Hogwarts' Muggle
by NovaArbella
Summary: A Muggle in Hogwarts? Can that even happen? Apparently it can and Prof. Snape is characteristically unhappy about it...for awhile. Friendship is a foreign concept to him, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. Especially with such an engaging Muggle with so many odd talents and the capacity and need to learn and understand everything around her. As cannon as possible
1. HM1-Misunderstanding

Misunderstanding

Severus Snape was one of the most calculated, careful men she knew. That was part of his appeal to her. He would tell you exactly what was on his mind, no pampering, no sugar coating, even if what he was saying was devastating. She could depend on him for that. So now she asked him to repeat whatever it was that he had just muttered, because she hadn't caught it.

He was unnerved by what he had just revealed and couldn't meet her eyes. Turning his head away, he let his hair swing forward to cover his face. 'Why did I say that?' he internally berated himself. And why had he? Was it the warm spring breeze rustling through the leaves of the tree they were sitting under? The way it shifted her hair and made the curls dance around her face and brush against her cheek so that he longed to reach over and wind one around his finger and tuck it back behind her ear? Or was it the way the sun slanted over her face lighting up the deep blue of her eyes right before she closed them and leaned comfortably into the tree? Maybe it was the blades of grass tickling at her bare feet as she flexed and curled her toes like a cat stretching in the sun. Or perhaps it was the toes themselves, with the nails painted a deep and shiny purple in the Muggle fashion that he didn't understand but still enjoyed all the same.

It could have been any of those things, or dozens of others. In truth, he enjoyed being with her. It was something he thought he would never ever admit to anyone, much less blurt out to her, but he had. He wasn't used to having a friend to talk to. His last experience with a friend of the opposite sex hadn't gone that well. And this one was a Muggle. It was still hard for him to accept that he could want to spend time with her. But she was so smart...and so pretty. He could feel color seeping into his cheeks and was appalled at himself all over again. 'How am I going to fix this?' he wondered, still hiding behind his hair and refusing to meet her eyes.

"Severus?" she asked again. Tilting her head and leaning forward she reached out her hand meaning to brush the hair from his face so she could see his eyes. She loved his eyes, the blackness of them. They held secrets that she was sure he had never told a soul, and probably never would and that was fine with her. She had her own secrets and never begrudged others their's.

He knew what she was trying to do and looked sharply away.

"Fine!" she spat, suddenly angry. He must have made another of his snide Muggle jokes, just when she was so sure that he'd fallen out of that annoying habit. Well she wasn't going to be anybodies punching bag. If he still harbored his dislike of Muggles well then he could just leave her be and let her spend her time with people who didn't care.

"Just...fine." She pushed herself up, slid on her sandals, and looked down at him. "You know where to find me if you want me." she shot over her shoulder as she swiftly turned and walked off muttering under her breath about men being the bane of her existence, and why did she even bother with them anyway, and about how she probably wouldn't bother if women weren't ten times worse.

He sadly watched her retreating form, still yelling at himself in his head. 'You are an ass Severus' he said to himself. 'What did you say that was so bad? Its not like you confessed some hidden, burning love!'

He pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes then got to his feet and started across the grounds all the while wondering what was wrong with him. Did he love her? No... he didn't think so... it didn't feel like it had with Lily. He liked spending time with her, he liked talking to her and listening to her, he even missed her when she went home during the summer and looked forward to seeing her again in the fall. There was that pleasant little twist in his belly when the post owls delivered her letters over the holidays, and most of the time he even wrote back. But was that love? He didn't think so. That was the beginning of good friendship...wasn't it?

Even if he did love her he probably wouldn't act on it. She still wore a wedding ring though her husband had died several years before Severus had even met her. Even though she said she only wore it as a reminder now, Severus felt that there was something deeper in that gesture than she would admit. But he didn't love her, he was just getting old feelings of friendship and secret love mixed up with this new friendship because she was a she...wasn't he? Definitely, probably, maybe. He sighed at his thoughts. Things had been so much easier when he had just had his classes to teach and the schools hallways to prowl, and points to remove from dunderhead students.

Wishing he had more experience with matters of friendship he entered the castle and thought about going straight to the dungeons and his private quarters even though lunch was being served. He chanced one glance into the Great Hall and saw her there, talking to McGonagle and Dumbledore. Dumbledore was shaking with laughter at the story she was telling him and even Minerva was smiling. He was momentarily amazed at how quickly she could change gears. You wouldn't have known by looking that anything was bothering her.

Severus watched her animated hand gestures and decided that she was probably telling the story of when she had been filming a documentary in Brazil and had fallen out of a tree while trying to catch a snake. He was amazed that she could take a story that would normally be told and taken very seriously and make people laugh about it, and not feel bad about laughing. He remembered the end of the previous school year, her second year as a teacher, when she had told that story to him. It had been around the very beginning of their friendship, he had asked about the very small hitch in her gait that he had been noticing since the first day she'd been at Hogwarts.

"_It was awful Severus." she had said with laughter in her eyes. "We had been tramping around the rain forest for days without finding so much as a lizard. So when I saw the snake I shot straight up that tree without even blinking an eye. The snake was already almost a third of the way up, but I knew I could get it. I can climb like a monkey and I caught up with it in no time." _

"_One second I had this beautiful boa in my hand, and the very next there was a horrible snapping sound as the branch I was standing on gave way. All I remember was falling like I was in slow motion, it felt like I cracked my butt on almost every branch on the way down. My crew said I landed with an almighty thump, held up the snake and yelled, 'I still got it!', then passed out." She had chuckled as she told him this. _

_He had been horrified and when he asked if she had gotten badly hurt she had answered in the affirmative saying something about her hips having to be pinned back together and how she was very lucky she could still walk at all, let alone walk almost normally and without the assistance of a crutch or cane. _

"_I don't remember anything until a few days later when I woke up in the hospital." she had stated when he asked how she had survived the pain. "By then they had me on so many pain killers I don't know what was real and what wasn't" _

_She didn't seem to want to talk about that particular part of the story so he had asked if anyone else knew about her fall. She had forced a laugh then and said, _

"_Of course! It was all caught on film. It was practically the only 'good' footage from that whole trip. There is a blooper TV program in America that uses that clip when they open the show, so lots of people have seen it. At least once every few weeks back home someone runs up pointing and saying 'oh my God! Its that chick who fell out of the tree on that show!'" She had smiled wryly and shaken her head. "I actually have seen the footage and it WAS pretty funny. I looked like a crash test dummy holding a short piece of rope. I didn't really hit that many branches on the way down, but I hit enough."_

Severus shook himself back to the present and continued on to his quarters. He wasn't hungry anyway. He felt a foul mood coming on and even glaring at a group of first years hard enough to send them scurrying off did nothing to raise his spirits. He entered his rooms and flopped down in his favorite chair to think.

Not two minutes later he was up and pacing the length of the room with long jerky strides. He couldn't quite his mind, and he couldn't think clearly either. He picked up a book and sat down again to read. Fifteen minutes later, after reading the same paragraph at least three times, he tossed the book aside and strode to his desk to mark essays. He had a feeling it was going to be a long weekend.


	2. HM2-Hogwarts' Muggle

Hogwarts' Muggle

As she strode away from Severus, Brie couldn't help muttering about men under her breath. "Men think women are hard to understand, Ha!" she snorted, mostly to herself. A few students give her funny looks as she passes by them, muttering darkly. She smiles and waves at them, and they smile and wave back.

Even though she still sometimes feels out of place, she likes it here and is amazed by something new and magical everyday. She still can't believe her luck at being able to be a professor at Hogwarts. Even if she wasn't a professor of magic and her classes were completely elective she still had tons of students who wanted to learn from her. Dumbledore had made it very clear when she started that she had full carte-blanc over her class content. "Teach them about Muggles, what Muggles learn." He had told her. 'What Muggles learn!' she had thought to herself. 'Where do I start?'

She had eventually figured it out and after the first few rocky weeks classes seemed to go well. She tended to come into class with a loose idea of what she wanted to get across and let things go from there. The students were always full of questions, no matter what subject they happened to be studying, and everything always just seemed to get covered. They might spend a few weeks on one subject and only a few days on another but the kids always left class richer in knowledge and with a better understanding of Muggles and Muggle culture.

Brie figured that must have been what Dumbledore had wanted because he seemed very pleased by her students progress. She still couldn't help being glad that the regular Muggle Studies class was still offered and that her own class had no OWL or NEWT exams in the 5th and 7th years. She gave regular tests to her students to make sure they were all on track and absorbing information, and that was good enough for all concerned.

After her first few weeks, Brie thought she could understand why Dumbledore wanted the students to have a better understanding of Muggles. Even the official Muggle Studies professor had her information a little off the mark. A little wizardy, you might say and Brie disliked how the official class studied Muggles like they were some interesting exhibit in a zoo.

Whatever his logic, Brie had learned that Dumbledore never did anything for no reason or half assed, so she was always sure to use her whole ass when teaching his 'pet class' as some of the professors called it. When she had first started the students... were students. They weren't sure of her, but they had elected to be there and were excited to learn, so all was well at the start of Dumbledore's new venture. Most of the professors had been nice to her when she started, though some didn't like the idea of any Muggle at the school.

Severus seemed to be one of those who disliked the idea of a Muggle professor, so for almost her entire first year he and Brie barely voluntarily spoke. The few times they did converse were short and to the point, almost terse. She seemed to sense Severus's animosity and was trying to keep to herself where he was concerned. It wasn't hard to pick up on with all the glares he sent her way.

Dumbledore watched their contact from a distance and after awhile he seemed to think it was time to take matters into his own hands. Severus, understandably, had a very bad impression of Muggles and it was time for him to realize that not all Muggles were horrible. That, in fact, some Muggles were quite amazing.

Brie was always keen to learn about magic and the wizarding world, especially when she had first arrived, and Dumbledore never failed to entertain her with stories about great wizards and magical creatures, and different kinds of spells and potions, and what they did. He increasingly started to turn their talks to potions, at least once a conversation leaning out over the table to call for Severus's opinion

"Since he is Hogwarts's Potions Master." he would say with a twinkle in his eye.

Although he never looked happy about it, Severus would always give his opinion and sourly answer any questions she asked. Whenever Severus would try to catch Dumbledore's eye during these short conversations Dumbledore never seemed to be looking his way.

Dumbledore would chuckle to himself and bide his time. He had what he liked to think of as his 'ace in the hole' or his closer, if you will, in the formation of a new friendship that he felt would do his Potions Master some good. Severus kept to himself too much if you asked Dumbledore. Having someone around on staff who didn't remember Severus' schoolboy days would be good for him. Of course, he was going to need a little push, Severus being Severus. Dumbledore was perfectly willing to give him that little push, or a big kick, whatever was needed. He had obviously researched Ms. Waters before contacting her about teaching at Hogwarts and he had found out something he considered very interesting about her.

So Dumbledore waited and watched as the contact between Brie and Severus became slightly less stiff over the course of her first year as a professor. There were occasional mornings when they even greeted each other before sitting down. Brie always initiated the greetings, but Severus always responded. Dumbledore considered this a good sign. One Saturday morning, toward the end of the school year, Dumbledore leaned out over the table to talk to Severus.

"_Severus, I don't believe I have mentioned this before. Are you aware that Professor Waters has an interest in reptiles? Don't you have a similar interest?" His eyes twinkled as he said this, knowing full well that Severus did have some interest in the subject. Most Potions Masters did and this particular Potions Master was a Slytherin besides!_

_Both Severus and Brie froze mid motion and stared at Dumbledore in surprise, Severus reaching for his glass and Brie with a forkful of eggs halfway to her mouth. Severus shot Dumbledore a pithy look which Brie missed and Dumbledore ignored and said, "Its more an interest in the skin, scales, fangs, and venom Albus.", hoping that this would end the conversation. He felt a bit bad about saying it because he did enjoy reptiles, snakes in particular but he wasn't going to let Albus play his little games with the poor unsuspecting Muggle, and himself. He was well aware that Albus thought he could use a fresh perspective on Muggles and Muggle culture. 'An interest in reptiles', he thought to himself, 'she probably has a pet snake or something like that.'_

_Brie was slightly shocked that Dumbledore had just basically announced her Muggle career. So far the other professors had assumed that she had previously been a professor somewhere else. In her classroom, if she wanted to use her real life experience as an example, Brie had been telling stories as if they had happened to a friend or someone else she knew. Only a few of the Muggle born students had recognized her from TV and Brie had quietly asked them to keep the information to themselves until people stopped looking at her like a sideshow act simply because she was a Muggle. _

_Brie had turned to Severus and said, "What a coincidence, I also have a special interest in venom. Different from your interests, I'm sure.", then she turned away and finally got the forkful of egg into her mouth. She waited as she chewed and sure enough Severus couldn't help but ask what she meant._

"_I assume your interest in snake venom is strictly its use in potions?" she asked. Severus had answered in the affirmative. "My interest is more in anti-venom. I extract venom from venomous snakes and it is used it to make anti-venom. I travel the world collecting and releasing various species for my facility and I make educational films while I'm at it." _

_She was used to telling people what she did for a living, and she always did it quickly and very matter of fact. Then she would wait for the questions. They always came after the first initial shocked expression. The most common ones were, "You're kidding right?" and "Have you ever been bitten?" The answers were no and no, and Severus followed the script so perfectly that it made her smile. Of course he had said, "Surely you aren't serious." and she had answered, "Why would I lie? And the name is Gabrielle not Shirley.", and he had rolled his eyes, but it was close enough. When he asked her why she was smiling and she told him, he had smiled. A rare smile albeit a small one. _

_The difference even such a small smile made was impressive. He no longer looked sullen and withdrawn, his lips curved and his eyes crinkled a bit and he looked almost happy for a moment. She had raised an eyebrow and the smile was suddenly gone. His sullen professor manner came down like a shutter as he hurriedly stood making some excuse about checking a potion before sweeping out of the Great Hall with his robes billowing out behind him._

"_Don't mind Severus," Dumbledore had said to her "We don't let him out of the dungeon often. He really is a decent fellow once you get to know him." He smiled and rose from his seat to make an announcement leaving Brie to wonder if he was right._

Brie shook herself out of her reverie when she heard Albus saying something about falling out of a tree. "Excuse me Albus?" She asked, already having a vague idea of what he was asking her.

"I said I heard the Weasley twins telling the most animated story involving you, a tree, and gravity. I can't believe it to be true." He looked at her expectantly. He loved to hear stories of her 'Muggle adventures', as he and most of the rest of the school called them.

"Knowing the Weasley twins, I'm sure the facts have been... expanded on" she began with a smile and proceeded to tell him the rest of the story as she had told Severus and yesterdays morning class. As she did she made a mental note not to tell the Weasely twins anything she wouldn't want bellowed across the Great Hall.

As she was telling Albus the story, she noticed Severus pause at the door of the Great Hall for a moment then walk away. She sighed inwardly, wondering what his problem was. They had become fairly good friends over the course of this year, her third as a Professor at Hogwarts. She just couldn't understand why he couldn't understand that, fundamentally, Muggles weren't very much different than witches and wizards.

Quickly finishing up her story she excused herself saying that she had some essays to mark. As she left and headed toward her rooms she realized that she really did have essays to mark so she changed course and headed to her classroom. 'Better to get it done now,' she thought to herself, 'anyway it will keep me from brooding.'

Not having as many students as the other professors, it never took her very long to mark papers. After she was done she looked around the classroom for something else to keep her hands and mind busy. She couldn't find anything so she decided to go back to her rooms and read for awhile.

Some time later she tossed aside her book having finished it with surprising speed. 'Shoot' she thought to herself annoyed at having finished so quickly because she didn't have any other new books. 'Now what am I going to do?' She figured she might as well change and go for a run. Running always cleared her mind and there was still some daylight left.

As she walked through the entrance hall she wondered again why Severus would seek her out for company if he really disliked Muggles so much. Shaking her head and trying not to think about it anymore, she jogged down to the path around the lake where she liked to run. Trying not to think about something seemed to be the way to ensure that you endlessly did.


	3. HM3-First Impressions

**AN: *embarrassed blush* So I umm...kinda forgot to post this chapter the first time. I just got done fixing the chapters and the order, so enjoy this not-supposed-to-be-new, new chapter.  
**

First Impressions

Severus finished marking the essays and caste around for something else to do. He had perhaps given out a few more Ds than he may have if he had been in a slightly better mood. And if he had been in that slightly better mood he most likely wouldn't have marked that one essay T. But he wasn't in a good mood, so it couldn't be helped.

He could find nothing that would hold his interest in his rooms so he decided to head to his classroom and start preparing ingredients and instructions for the coming week. As he was sorting through doxy wings and belladonna and wondering which little dunderhead had mixed the doxy wings and lacewing flies, his thoughts drifted to Brie again.

He hadn't liked the idea of a Muggle professor and an American Muggle professor at that. He remembered thinking to himself that Albus could have at least stayed in his own country if he was going to bring a Muggle into the school. But no matter what he had said and how much he and a handful of other professors objected nothing would change Albus's mind.

"_Severus," Dumbledore had said with infuriating calm, after listening to the many arguments he had put forth, "who better to teach the students what Muggles know and by extension more about Muggles, than a Muggle? The students need a more accurate view about Muggle life. I feel it is very important." _

"_But an American Muggle Albus?" He growled, not wanting to give in easily and taking one last stab out of pure stubbornness._

_Dumbledore had fixed him with a stern look. "This American Muggle woman has been through more than 90% of people, wizard or Muggle, have in their entire lives Severus. She has an amazing capacity to heal and learn and live and love. I feel that that is also very important."_

_Severus had lapsed into thoughtful silence. "Lemon drop?" Dumbledore asked brightly, interrupting his thought pattern. Severus had declined. _

So Gabrielle Waters had come to the school, becoming the first Muggle ever to set foot in Hogwarts. Severus wasn't sure what kind of spell or enchantment Albus had put on her to ensure that she could find and see the school, but assumed he had found a way since she hadn't yet wandered off never to be heard from again.

He had little to no interest in the subject she had been brought in to teach and nothing to say to her, so before even laying eyes on Brie, Severus had resolved to avoid her as much as possible. Fate liked to spoil his plans, so of course Albus had seated her between the two of them at mealtimes. Severus could see the logic in this, he supposed. The Muggle had many questions in the initial few weeks of her employment and Albus enjoyed filling her in and hearing bits about her life so it made sense that he would keep her close. Severus had stubbornly stuck to his resolve and studiously ignored her after their initial meeting when Albus had introduced her to the staff. He could remember the day he met her with crystal clarity. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but it definitely wasn't what he found.

He and the other staff members had been gathered in the professor's meeting room waiting for Albus. They all knew he was bringing the new Muggle professor to this gathering to meet everyone, so as they waited most discussed what they knew about Muggles and some even made bets as to what kinds of questions she was bound to ask and if she would even be able to comprehend the magic that went on there.

"_I've seen what Muggles think magic is." Severus remembered Pamona saying to Poppy. "Not even close to real magic really. I saw a Muggle magic show once. The man on stage was pulling rabbits out of hats and flowers out of his sleeve and coins out of peoples ears, and the people watching were oohing and awwing and there were lights flashing and music pumping. It was all so garish and... fake." she decided._

"_Well," said the ever positive Poppy, "I'm sure Albus didn't hire an idiot and he has probably filled her in a bit by now anyway. We will just have to see how it goes._

_Just then the door opened and everyone turned toward it expectantly. Albus stepped into the room followed by the newest professor. "I'm sure everyone is pleased to meet the newest member of the staff, Gabrielle Waters." He said without preamble "As we are all well aware, she is a Muggle and comes to us from America. She is here to teach any student who wants a deeper understanding of Muggles and Muggle culture."_

_Brie had smiled, obviously very nervous and out of place. "Hello everyone, I'm happy to meet you all." she said as she gripped her hands together and twisted her fingers around each other. "I hope we get to know each other better throughout the year..." she had trailed off, unsure of what to say next._

_Albus had come to her rescue then by asking everyone to take their seats so they could start the staff meeting and talk about the upcoming term. Everyone shot looks over in Brie's direction throughout the meeting and fell silent whenever she asked or answered a question. As the meeting wore on the professors began to get used to her but she just seemed to get more and more nervous and jittery. _

_Severus studied her from across the table. She was small. Not just short, some of the 6th and 7th year students would tower over her, but also almost painfully thin, though she seemed strong. He found himself wondering what she did in the US that would give her that kind of physique. Her hair was a very dark golden kind of amber and it ran down her back in a riot of curls. Her eyes were dark blue and they crinkled when she smiled. The smile seemed to come often and easily despite her obvious discomfort. He studied her face for a few seconds longer and noticed a scattering of golden freckles across her nose and cheeks before turning his attention back to the subject under discussion._

_A few minutes later she knocked over a glass of water as she reached out for it and jumped up stuttering an embarrassed apology. Without even thinking about it Severus had lifted his wand and vanished the water before it could make its way across the table. Brie had frozen in place with her mouth open in a small O as she uttered a soft "wow" under her breath. A split second later she had recovered and regained her seat. Now there was a different kind of smile on her face and a light in her eye that hadn't been there before. _

_A few of the professors, Severus included, were impressed by her mild reaction and quick recovery. She also hadn't asked how Severus had done the magic and hadn't asked to see more. This seemed to comfort some of them. They started to realize that some of their initial discomfort around Brie may have stemmed from expecting her to gawk at them and ask to see more 'tricks'. A few thought that they probably should have known better than to think that Albus would hire just any gawking, stupid, or narrow minded Muggle._

_Shortly after the water incident Dumbledore wrapped up the meeting and everyone rose to leave while still talking amongst themselves. Severus was almost out the door when Dumbledore called him back. He inwardly cringed and cursed the old wizard because he knew what was coming next._

"_Severus would you mind showing Professor Waters to her rooms? I need to speak to Minerva before she leaves." With that Albus had turned and walked toward Minerva leaving both Brie and Severus staring after him. _

_Brie had simply blinked and said with a laugh, "People come and go so quickly here."_

_Severus, being a wizard and having never seen the Wizard of Oz, thought that it was a rather odd thing to say. He jerked his head toward the direction of the door and said, "This way then." a bit more sharply then he had meant to. Brie blinked again at the harshness in his voice and her eyes went cold as she squared her shoulders, lifted her chin slightly, then followed. Dumbeldore had warned her that some of the professors were not happy about her being here. This Severus must be one of them._

_As they walked down the halls toward her rooms Severus noticed that he barely had to shorten his stride or slow his pace. He wondered if she always moved so quickly or if she was keeping up with him out of pride, he had noticed her 'prepare' herself before following him. He also noticed the very slight hitch in her step. It seemed that one of her legs didn't stretch out as far as the other would. He glanced sideways and noticed that she was turning her head rapidly in every direction trying to take everything in all at once, just like the Muggle born first years._

_She saw him scowling at her and blushed. "I'm sorry." she said not hesitating to look him right in the eye. "I must look ridiculous. Like a tourist or something. Its just that I only arrived here a few minutes before that meeting and..." she paused for a second then broke out in a grin, "I've never seen paintings move before!" she had exclaimed. "Look! They can move through the frames into other paintings too, thats just so neat! And I swear those coats of armor move too." She eyed the nearest coat of armor suspiciously before looking back at him and blushing even deeper. She cleared her throat and said, "I should pay better attention to where you are taking me though. I'd rather not get lost trying to find my way without you." Trying to lighten the mood she continued, "I don't suppose you are in the habit of making middle of the night rescues for silly lost Muggles?" When he hadn't responded she had lapsed into a puzzled silence._

"_This is it." he said shortly as he stopped in front of a door halfway down a corridor. There was a painting of a troll to one side of the door, which had no knob._

"_Is that a troll?" She asked as she pointed to the painting. The troll grunted and pointed stupidly back at her and she jumped a bit, then laughed. "That's going to take some getting used to."_

"_Yes it is a troll." Severus had answered dryly. He watched her survey the door and run her hand over the place where a knob would normally be. She then tried the troll painting, lifting it up and peeking behind. Taking two steps back she plunked her hands on her hips, cocked her head and looked for a second longer. "...So, what am I missing here?" She had finally asked._

_He had sighed and replied rather nastily, "To enter your rooms you give the troll your password. I assume Dumbledore told you the temporary password?"_

"_Oh yes! I'd already forgotten with all this new...stuff to absorb. He said that he picked out a password that would be easy for a Muggle to remember. Its kind of odd actually." she looked bemused as she said this._

_Severus groaned to himself, having a good idea of what Dumbledore's special muggle password was. "May I venture to guess that the password is lemon drop?" He asked even though he was fairly certain of her answer._

"_Yes!" she looked surprised_

"_If you get to know Albus like most of us do you will find it is not the most subtle of passwords. You should be sure to remember to change it." With this he turned away and said over his shoulder, "I'm sure many of the professors would be glad to help if you should find you need it."_

_He strode away leaving her to watch his back and wonder if she had said something stupid or if Severus Snape was just always unpleasant. As he turned the corner her saw her shake her head, give the troll the password, and enter her rooms._

As Severus finished picking the lacewing flies out of the doxy wings he made a mental note to give the last class that had worked with these ingredients a little unexpected quiz for his troubles. Having finished the task he rose and walked out of the classroom. Sometime during his reminiscence he had decided that he was being foolish. He and Brie had become good friends this year, hadn't they?

Feeling embarrassed all over again for being a git, or a jerk Brie might say, he shook it off and went to look for her so he could confess what a jerk he was and hope she wasn't mad at him anymore. He wondered now if she had gotten angry at him or if she had just seemed angry but he had really hurt her. He thought about it for a moment and decided that he hoped she was angry. Making her angry made him feel far less like a git for some reason. He made himself feel better by taking ten points from a passing Ravenclaw student who was holding a bag of Dungbombs.

She didn't answer when he knocked on her door, so he started toward the entrance hall wondering where she might be. He spotted her as he passed a bank of windows that faced the lake. As he paused to watch her for a minute he found himself glad she was running. It might mean she wouldn't have the energy to be mad anymore. He had reason to know that while it might take quite a bit to get her temper up, once it flared it was formidable. He had only experienced it on one occasion but it had made an impression. She had gone off on him for making snide and disparaging Muggle remarks. He'd never meant them toward her but, she had asked, at the top of her lungs, how could he not mean her as well if she was a Muggle? Knowing how much it took to anger her, he felt a guilty pang.

He still hadn't sorted out all his thoughts and feelings toward her yet, but he knew that he would rather she be his friend than nothing at all. He would figure out his heart and mind eventually. Stepping away from the window he continued toward the main entrance and out onto the grounds, making his way toward the lake and the best friend he had had since Lily Evans.

Thinking about Lily made Severus frown. He knew that soon there would be an almost daily reminder of his dearest friend and his oldest enemy running around the castle and that he himself had already played a large role in the shaping of history there. He didn't want to think about the future and his unavoidable role in that particular area right now. He still hadn't sorted out all his thoughts and feelings there yet either.

'One thing at a time.' He thought to himself. There was nothing he could do now about Harry Potter's inevitable arrival at Hogwarts. 'I'll deal with him in the future and Lily is in the past.' It had become such a familiar feeling, he barely registered the fist squeezing at his heart when he thought about Lily. 'Now is for the present.' He slowed his pace spotting Brie again as he started down the hill to the lake.


	4. HM4-On the Road

On the Road

The wind whipped over Brie's face as she ran and she could feel her mind clearing. At some point during this run she had had the sudden thought that perhaps Severus hadn't insulted her like she had assumed. She went over the conversation they had been having in her head and didn't really see any type of anti Muggle statement that could have come out of it.

Now she felt bad because she knew he really had been trying to break the bad habit. She had absolutely lost it on him one day when she had gotten fed up with all his offhand Muggle bashing. It hadn't been directed specifically at her since they had slowly become friendlier over her second year at Hogwarts, but it was still very hurtful and frankly, pretty ignorant in her opinion. She had been unable to hold her temper about it for very long.

Now, as they were nearing the end of her third year as a professor, it had been months since Severus had even slipped up with any negative comments about Muggles. She guessed he didn't even really think very badly about them anymore, but couldn't really be sure. As long as he kept it to himself, she didn't very much care. Everyone was entitled to an opinion no matter how stupid, and she was pretty sure that she would be able to truly change his mind over enough time anyway.

So now she continued to run and tried to figure out what had really gone on this morning. She knew that he was a very proud, but private person who almost never revealed anything to anyone. Whatever it was that he had mumbled must have embarrassed him and she had gone and kicked him while he was down. "Jackass." she muttered to herself as she picked up her pace. She noticed several students heading for the main entrance and figured that it must be dinnertime. Not ready to go in yet, she continued on her path around the lake.

She thought back to a night about a month before the end of her first year at Hogwarts. A night when she had been feeling very alone and blue. Most of the professors were still cautious around her. No one but Snape had been outwardly unkind, but she also wasn't really being invited for tea and cozy chats either. Well, Dumbledore had her up to his office for tea once a week to make sure she was getting along ok, and while it was nice, it wasn't really a blossoming friendship or anything.

So far she had spent most of her time in the library reading about whatever caught her attention and trying to draw connections between magic and science. She already had an entire notebook full or questions and theories. It had been a lonely few months. Unable to sleep, she had decided to take a walk around the castle. She considered this the night when she and Severus had first started down the road to friendship. It was at least the night when he had stopped being so openly hostile to her at any rate. It would amuse her to know that Severus was heading her way and thinking about the same night.

_Brie stared at the paintings as she slowly walked down the hallways. They still amazed her and she found herself wondering if that amazement would ever wear off. She hoped not. Whenever there were students and other professors close by she would be sure to try not to pay attention of course, but when no one was around she just couldn't help it. _

_She was halfway down a staircase, meaning to go to her classroom to set up for the morning, when the staircase shifted and slowly swung away from her goal. She hated when they did that. At least she knew_ _her way around well enough after a__lmost a full school year__, but in the beginning it had been unpleasant and she had gotten lost often._

_Luckily it stopped on a landing that led to the main staircase down to the entrance hall. Happy because there was an alternate way back to her classroom she headed down and across the hall. As she was passing through, she heard a door close softly. Looking around she noticed a door next to the main staircase. She had just passed by it without even noticing. Puzzled she headed in the direction of the door. There was probably a student who was out after hours and it really was part of her job to investigate._

_The door opened into a long hallway and about halfway down a small girl stood twitching her fingers over a painting of fruit in a bowl. Brie was fairly sure the little girl was a second year Slytheryn. The girl was concentrating hard on her task, moving from one piece of fruit to another, so Brie was able to move up close to her._

"_Honey, what are you doing?" She had asked the girl softly. _

_The girl had jumped away from the painting to face her. The poor thing looked terrified and Brie took instant pity on her._

"_Calm down." she said trying to soothe her while still keeping some authority in her voice. "What is your name and what are you doing?" She said this with a hint of a smile and the girl smiled tentatively back._

"_My name is Penelope Smalls." she volunteered readily but seemed reluctant to continue further._

"_And..." Brie prompted while raising an eyebrow._

"_And...some of the girls in my house are daring each other to do... things..." Penelope trailed off, no longer smiling.._

"_Things like sneak out after midnight and scratch at a painting?" Brie had asked, trying not to show her confusion in case this was a perfectly normal thing for young witches and wizards to do._

"_This painting leads to the kitchens." Penelope continued reluctantly. "You have to tickle a certain piece of fruit to get in, but no one knew which one."_

"_So they dared you to go and find out?" Brie guessed _

_Penelope nodded and looked at her feet. As she watched her Brie again took pity and said, "You should head back and tell all the girls to confine the dares to the common room. I am going to have to take points, but since I have never caught you out before I'll make it...ten." she decided. "Go on and try not to get caught by anyone else on the way back."_

_Penelope didn't need to be told twice. She looked up at Brie, mumbled a surprised thanks and was gone in a flash. Brie turned and faced the painting after Penelope had left wondering if what the girl had said was true. Would a Muggle be able to use the magic if it was? She was able to use the troll painting to enter her room, would she be able to make the door to the kitchens open too? She had already watched as Penelope had tickled all but two pieces of fruit. Only the banana and pear remained._

_She reached out her hand, eager to see if the magic would work, and tickled the banana. Nothing happened. Disappointed she reached over to the pear and prepared for further disappointment but it had started to giggle and squirm almost as soon as her fingers brushed against it. Brie had to jump back as the painting swung out as if on hinges and revealed the entrance to the kitchens._

_'That was so cool! ' she thought as she stepped through the doorway and the painting closed behind her. As she looked around she saw gleaming copper pots and pans hanging from pot racks and four long tables in the middle of the room. The house elves were clustered around the farthest table and were staring back at her. She was grateful that Dumbledore had told her about house elves during one of their more recent conversations. She still didn't know what to say to them, but at least she knew what they were. _

"_Don't mind me," Brie had finally said after she and the elves had stared at each other for a minute or so, "I found a student trying to get in so I sent her back to her common room, then I...tickled the pear..." she finished lamely. She was starting to feel uncomfortable._

_One of the elves approached her cautiously and squeaked out "Would Miss like anything? Tea perhaps? Or some pumpkin juice?"_

_Brie had been startled for a moment at the elf's tinny squeaky voice, and big round eyes. "Oh no, no thats all right," she hastily tried to assure the elf because it had already scampered over to get the tea pot and several others had come to help. "I don't need anything! I really don't!" She felt uncomfortable at all the attention the elves were now showing her. They seemed desperate to do something, anything for her. The elf that had offered her the tea was now bouncing over to a cupboard saying, "We have cakes and cookies too, Miss, yes yes we do." _

_Brie fought the urge to reach out and grab the little elf to make it hold still. "No, really I'm fine. I didn't come in for anything." She said again. "I was just taking a little walk because I couldn't sleep and I found that student. Thats all, don't worry." She relaxed as the little elf finally stopped bouncing around. She had smiled with relief and said, "You know, it is kind of funny that I ended up in the kitchen. Back home I sometimes bake cookies on nights I can't sleep." _

_She had only mentioned it so that she had something to say, but it started the little elf scampering all over the kitchen again grabbing bowls and spoons and whisks and ingredients as it went and putting them all on a long work table. "Miss can certainly bake her own cookies if Miss wants! Lully will bring Miss whatever she needs!" the elf exclaimed as she put eggs on the table as well._

_Brie was extremely distressed at this point and was trying to assure the elf that she hadn't meant for her to whip into action and set up a baking station at one in the morning. "Uhh...Lully, please stop...I didn't mean...no, no don't, its OK, really..." Nothing Brie had said stopped Lully this time and almost before she could blink everything needed to bake chocolate chip cookies stood on the table before her._

_In frustration she brought her hands to her head and fisted them in her hair. Her mind was spinning as she watched the elf dash here and there. She didn't know what to do. Should she just step back out the way she came? That seemed rude, but surely she wasn't going to bake up a batch of cookies just because of an increasing large misunderstanding, was she? _

_She looked at the ingredients and the utensils the elf had laid out and suddenly thought to herself, 'Why not? Everything is here and you can't sleep anyway. It will probably even help you get to sleep.' Having decided to go for it, she rolled up her sleeves and started to measure out flour. Lully grinned and said, "Lully knew Miss came in for something! Lully always knows!" This made Brie feel a little foolish but she had already started, so she carried on._

_She was mixing sugar into the butter and just starting to enjoy herself when the kitchen door swung open and Professor Snape walked in. When he spotted her with the mixing bowl in the crook of her arm and a smudge of flour on her cheek he stopped and stared for a moment, looking as surprised as she felt. "What are YOU doing here?" they had both asked at nearly the same time, surprising each other even more._

_Brie had recovered first and looked expectantly at Severus, hoping she could catch him off guard and make him answer first. He merely raised an eyebrow and she cursed her fair skin as she felt color seep into her cheeks, but she still didn't answer._

_After a moment Severus had sighed and said, "I caught a student in the dungeon on her way back to the Slytheryn common room. She informed me why she was out and I came to ask the house elves if this is a regular occurrence with the students." He looked again at the bowl in the crook of her arm and the whisk in her hand and asked dryly, "Homesick?" in a slightly mocking tone._

_Brie felt a flair of indignation at the fact he was so quick to judge and look down his nose at her. She felt her spine stiffen and fought to hold her temper. She had come to expect these kind of jabs from the unpleasant professor. She resumed mixing to calm herself down and give her hands something to do. She took a deep breath before replying, "Not especially." Which was a lie, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was right. "I was having trouble sleeping so I decided to go for a walk. I heard a door close as I was walking across the entrance hall. I found your Miss Smalls standing in front of the painting tickling the fruit. Long story short, she told me what she was doing, I removed some points and sent her back to her common room." _

_When he smirked at the bowl she was holding and raised another eyebrow she realized that nothing she had said explained why he had walked in on her with cookie ingredients spread over the worktable, so she grudgingly continued. "I wanted to see if I could make the door open." she paused and looked toward Lully who was standing a little ways away. "Things get a little blurry after that." Trying to act as natural as possible for a Muggle in a wizard school who was baking cookies at one in the morning she dumped brown sugar into the bowl._

_Lully had spoken then, "Miss said she would bake cookies at home when she couldn't sleep! Lully gave Miss everything she needed!"_

_Brie had looked at Lully, who was almost bursting with pride, then shifted her gaze to Severus. "I was just trying to make small talk, but before I could blink she had everything out. I don't think I could have refused." She shrugged and continued to stir. "Plus, I really can't sleep and this is as good a way as any to pass the time." She added as an afterthought._

_Severus had shrugged too and watched as she stirred the batter. He was confused because she didn't seem to be counting and would also switch from clockwise to counter clockwise periodically. He smirked again as he watched her crack an egg on the side of the bowl._

_She saw him smirk and felt her temper flair again. "Are you smirking because you would have done that with magic?" she had asked bluntly as she put the bowl down on the table with more force than she meant to. _

_Severus watched her beat the egg into the batter, unconsciously counting in his head and replied, "On the rare occasion that I crack eggs, yes I use magic." Brie had stopped stirring and picked up another egg. She held it in her palm and hesitated before giving her own smirk and holding it out to Severus in a kind of dare._

_He raised his eyebrows at the gesture and looked up at her in surprise. She looked steadily back at him, daring him to say or do something. He found that he didn't have the heart to smirk any longer. He grudgingly admired her spirit and her bravery so without a word he had waved his wand and the egg had risen out of her hand and cracked itself neatly over the bowl. _

_Now Brie looked surprised as the hand that had been holding the egg dropped limply to her side. She looked from the bowl to Severus a few times then said, "I didn't think you would actually do it. That was neat." She thought for a second as she picked up the whisk and started to stir again. "Why didn't you have to say anything?" She questioned after a few seconds. "I always hear the students saying... incantations to make spells work."_

_Severus had resumed unconsciously counting in his head as soon as Brie had resumed stirring. He answered her question absently, explaining about non verbal spells and how students didn't usually learn the skill until at least 6__th__ year. As she reached for the flour to mix into her batter, he had __stopped her, "You didn't stir the same number of times between this egg and the last." he couldn't help but point out._

_She had given Severus an odd look wondering if he was teasing her but he seemed quite serious. "You were counting?" She had asked, clearly confused._

"_Weren't you?" he had asked also starting to look confused._

_Brie still didn't understand what he was trying to ask her. Why would she count strokes? She asked as much, "Why would I count?" _

_Severus could feel his temper rising. 'What is this Muggle doing?' he asked himself. "If you do not count how are you to know when to stop stirring?" he asked her in the same tone he would use on a particularly dull first year._

_Her temper had flared again at his tone, and this time she let it bubble over a little. She now thought she had a vague idea of why Severus was asking about counting while stirring so she answered in the same mocking tone he had just used toward her. "When baking you usually stop stirring when the lumps are gone. I assume it is different when making potions?" She dumped the flour into her mix, suddenly wanting to be done as quickly as possible. She looked challengingly at Severus as she stirred._

_Now it was his turn to blush. Noticing this, Brie felt a small surge of triumph. Severus had looked everywhere but at Brie and finally said. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize." Feeling even more color rise in his cheeks he turned to leave before he embarrassed himself further._

_Brie saw his discomfort and instantly felt bad. She reached out and laid her hand on his arm before he could get too far. "Wait," she said. "at least stick around and have a cookie. They are almost ready to go in the oven. You can keep me company while they are baking."_

_Severus stopped at the gentle touch on his arm and turned. He looked at her for a long moment and thought that she looked lonely. For the first time since she arrived he realized that being here must be hard for her. Not just being a Muggle in a magical place, but being so far away from her home and her family as well. She probably wasn't able to contact them when she was here. He wondered why he had never thought of this before. He stopped and turned toward her unsure of what to do next._

_Brie had smiled and continued adding and mixing ingredients. A short awkward silence followed during which Brie wracked her brain for something to talk about that wouldn't sound horribly Mugglish. She remembered Dumbledore's breakfast ambush about her job from earlier in the week and began to talk about her reptile facility and what her job had been like before Dumbledore had found her and convinced her to come to Hogwarts. _

_As Severus listened to her explain the finer mechanics of venom extraction he found he was impressed despite himself. She had had a very dangerous job before she came to Hogwarts and she seemed to have an endless supply of knowledge about many animals, not just reptiles. He knew this because many of the questions he had been asking were questions he knew the answer to. _

_She told him about how she not only ran,what she called, the venom lab but also went out into the wild all over the world with whole crews of people and cameras, making documentaries and collecting new specimen so her facility could help produce many different kinds of anti-venom. He listened in surprise as she told him about the employee that she had had to let go shortly before coming to Hogwarts._

"_He was an idiot, I had to fire him before I left for such a long time. I wouldn't have felt right leaving the rest of the staff to keep an eye on him. He was careless, but he thought he was a bad ass because he worked with dangerous reptiles. I should have known better than to hire him in the first place, he had been bitten more than once already." she said as she shook her head._

"_You normally wouldn't hire someone who had been bitten?" Severus had asked intrigued_

"_Sometimes you get bitten, it just happens. Of course it is never the snake's fault. It is your fault for being careless." She shrugged and added, " I've had a ton of close calls myself, mostly in the wild. My husband was bitten in Africa and died." She paused for a moment after revealing this fact then continued, _

"_It was where he was bitten that should have warned me. Most keepers get bitten on the fingers or the hand. That is because smart keepers are always in control. They keep the snake at a safe distance with the proper tools and they don't grab it until they are sure they have a clear opening, again, using the proper tools and technique." She put stress on the last few words. "Well, this jackass had been bitten under his arm, in the rib cage and behind his knee." She stopped talking and slid a batch of cookies into the oven._

"_Humor those of us in the room who don't know what that indicates." Severus had quipped then._

"_That indicates that he is a jackass and so am I for not seeing it right away. You only get bitten in places like that if you don't control the animal properly. He had most likely gotten those bites because he didn't have control of the situation. When snakes are agitated enough they are biting at everything around them not just the person holding on to them. He probably had them by the tail with no control over the head. I fired him because it wasn't fair for anyone else who worked there to have to worry about getting bitten because he thought he was a macho cowboy." she scowled to herself. "You shouldn't have to go to work wondering if you are going to die today. Even if you work with things that can kill you. I promise everyone I hire that they don't have to wonder."_

"_Thats a big promise to make." Severus had said impressed but doubtful that she could possibly keep a promise like that._

"_Its my promise to make. As long as they are careful and good at what they do, listen to my instructions and follow the tried and true methods to the letter, no one has to worry. Much."_

_'Sounds like a potions classroom.' Severus though to himself upon hearing this._

"_No one has been bitten at my facility in the 5 years we have been in operation. "We've had a few bites out in the field where there are more variables and things are harder to control, but none in the lab. I'm very proud of that. It will probably happen eventually, but so far we have been lucky because we do our jobs right." She had said the last piece with pride in her voice._

_As the cookies baked Brie moved the conversation to potions, knowing this was a subject he would talk about. She listened as he explained some of the basic points of potion making and found herself impressed at the amount of knowledge that he had to impart and his enthusiasm for his subject. _

_Apparently the number of times a potion was stirred DID matter. The direction of the stirring was also important. As well as how finely the ingredients were cut up and sometimes even the length of time between each new addition._

"_Wow." she had marveled after learning these facts. "I'm glad baking isn't that involved. If I had had to time the cookie ingredients and count the number of strokes clockwise and counter clockwise we would probably be eating rocks right now." _

"_I suppose I should be glad too then because these are far from rocks." Severus said as he finished off another cookie._

"_I think I will take that as a complement." she chuckled feeling a ridiculous little surge of pride._

_Severus had replied without cracking a smile, "Of course you will, thats how I meant it." _

_She was fairly certain that he was showing his British roots with dry humor and wondered briefly why he never showed this side of his personality. So far every other encounter she had had with him had ended up less than pleasant. She was going to have a lot to think about when she was alone again._

_After the last batch was finally done, Brie had started to clean up but Lully the house elf had stopped her saying that she wouldn't dream of letting Miss clean up. Brie had shrugged and grabbed a cookie for herself and Severus before heading out the door. She handed him the cookie as they were walking back across the entrance hall._

"_Thanks for keeping me company." she said. "I think I may be able to get to sleep now." She smiled at Severus then turned and walked up the stairs. _

_As he watched her go he hesitated before replying, "Professor Waters?" Brie turned, surprised because this was the first time he had ever addressed her directly and as a professor. Severus continued, "How many points did you say you deducted from Miss Smalls?_

_Now Brie was confused but she replied with a frown, "I don't think I did say, but it was 10." _

_He blinked in surprise. "10? I would normally take 4 times that. No matter, I will have to be sure to return the points to my house sometime during the course of the day tomorrow." He was trying for another joke but it didn't come out the way he had hoped. He immediately felt foolish and turned abruptly in the direction of the dungeon._

_As Brie watched him go she knew she had a lot of new information to work into her impression of Severus Snape. His last comment had seemed odd. It had almost sounded like he was trying to have a little fun with her. She shook her head and continued toward her rooms, maybe she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight after all._

_When she saw him at breakfast the next morning she took a chance and smiled as she asked softly, "Did you manage to return the points yet?" _

_Severus had stared at her for a second before the corners of his mouth twitched upward as he realized she has gotten his joke. He was possibly going to have to re-evaluate his opinion of this particular Muggle._

Smiling to herself at the memory Brie slowed her pace. She had decided that she had been rash and foolish and it would be stupid to continue being mad, so she would go have a shower and then try to find Severus. At least she could tell him she was sorry for snapping at him. Maybe he would be in the mood to talk and they could put everything behind them. She rounded the lake and suddenly realized that she wouldn't have to look for Severus after all because he was heading down the slope toward her.

As she slowed her pace even further, trying to time it so that she would meet him at the bottom of the small hill, she studied her friend. He was tall, her own head barely came to his shoulder, and his collar length black hair was shifting in the breeze. She knew he kept it long to hide his face and try to direct attention away from his nose. She had tried to convince him many times to stop worrying about his nose, that it was a little bit larger than most, but so what? So far she hadn't had much impact on his opinion. His build seemed lanky and angular as he strode toward her in his black billowing robes but she had recently found out that those robes hid a surprisingly fit body for one who stirred potions or marked essays most of the day.

She had never really thought about how alike 'coming' and 'come in' sounded until she was standing in Severus's bedroom doorway with her hand still on the doorknob staring at him in shock and admiration while he wore nothing but a pained expression. Of course she had recovered herself as quickly as possible and backed out of the room closing the door, stuttering apologies and suppressing laughter.

Brie may have found it funny but Severus had been mortified and wouldn't meet her eyes for hours afterward. She had finally solved the problem by plucking the book he was reading out of his hands and grinning at him while saying he had absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about, but if he was then she could certainly arrange for him to walk in on her someday. She'd capped it off with a saucy wink.

It worked. He had smiled and blushed deeply but continued to look in her eyes as he hastily assured her that it wouldn't be necessary. She handed back the book, saying that he had protested so quickly it had hurt her feelings. He had whacked her on the arm with his book and she had known everything was all right again.

Now Severus reached the bottom of the hill and waited for Brie, who had slowed to a walk. She swallowed nervously as she approached and spoke as soon as she was near enough for him to hear. "I'm sorry."

Severus blinked once in surprise and instead of apologizing right away, as had been his plan, asked, "Sorry for what? I was the git."

She walked up to him and replied. "I'm sorry for getting angry. I thought you were saying awful things about Muggles again. I've been thinking about it and I don't see how you would have been. There was nothing to say about Muggles. And you weren't a jerk, I was. I got mad and stormed off for no good reason and didn't even bother to find out what you had said."

Severus smiled, "I knew you were going to say jerk." He shook his head. "Anyway I was a git, jerk, whatever for blurting out foolish things then avoiding you. I'm not surprised you got angry."

Brie didn't see the point in having another argument over whose fault the first one had been, so she said. "Then I guess we are both gits or jerks or whatever. What did you say this morning anyway? I didn't hear you."

Severus blushed all over again and mumbled hurriedly, "You had just finished saying that you miss spending time with your friends back home and then I said that I very much enjoy spending time with you here." He looked away again, then sighed at himself for being stupid and looked over at Brie instead.

She looked comically outraged for a split second and exclaimed, "THAT'S what you got upset over? I was wrong, you are a git Severus!" she started laughing and bent over to grip her knees. Gasping for breath she continued, "I got myself all worked up over this! I should have known better! Now I feel even worse for walking away."

This last thought sobered her and she straightened and looked out across the lake. After a brief pause she looked at Severus and asked, "Are we, you know, OK now?" Severus hastily assured her that they had never stopped being OK, as she had put it.

"Good." she said feeling much better. "I would give you a hug but I am all sweaty and gross."

Severus's eyes gleamed as he stepped toward her saying, "I have a solution for that." and without further warning he scooped Brie up, slinging her over his shoulder as he jogged the short distance to the edge of the lake. He didn't know what had possessed him to do it, but it was happening anyway. She was so damned small, he sort of always wanted to scoop her up and put her in his pocket. It was the oddest feeling.

Brie saw the gleam in his eye and tried to get away, but he was too quick and she was too unused to a playful Severus Snape. She hammered her fists on his back while squealing that the water was going to be freezing so early in the spring and swearing she would drag him in with her or die seeking revenge if she couldn't.

"Hold your breath." he suggested as he heaved her away from himself and into the water. She let loose a high pitched squeal and grabbed at his robes successfully pulling him in with her. The chill took her breath away but she was able to turn and grab his ankles, pulling him further under before swimming away. After that she scrambled up onto the bank and collapsed with laughter as she watched him surface and wade toward her shaking hair out of his eyes.

"You are like a bloody eel in the water you know." he called as he made his way to the bank.

"Practice my friend. You try catching sea snakes and spearing fish for dinner and see how well you learn to maneuver underwater." she called back to him. "Of course I really prefer a surfboard and a good wave, but whats to be done about that?

"I believe you are bragging again." Severus panted as he hauled himself out of the water.

"Hey I have to brag! I'm the only Muggle in Wizardland. You all can do cool stuff. I've at least done cool stuff, Mugglestyle. (She had long since given up trying to hide her semi celebrity status.) It's my duty to all Muggle kind to show the wizarding world Muggles can be amazing too." She stood and wrapped her arms around herself. "At least this counts as our monthly bath. Now lets get inside and dry off. I'm freezing."

He took out his wand and waved it over her saying, "I find this much easier." In seconds she was warm and dry. "Now we can go right to dinner."

"I wish I could do that." she said wistfully glancing at his wand as he finished drying himself and they started back to the castle.

Because he knew it would make her smile he asked, "Why would you wish that? I thought you were the Amazing Muggle. Now tell me again why Muggles run for no good reason?"

She knew he was trying to make her smile so she pokered up and said, "Because Muggles don't get to live to 150. We have to work hard to even make it to 85- 90 in good condition. Plus it keeps my pinned together hips strong." Her mock gravity gave way to real sincerity. "And maybe I am the Amazing Muggle to wizards at Hogwarts but there are other Muggles in the world far more amazing than me."

He hadn't meant to make her sad. "Perhaps," He said as they trudged back up the deserted hill, "but that doesn't change those amazing things."

Brie did smile now as she briefly slid her arm around Severus's waist and he in turn snaked an arm around her shoulders for a quick squeeze before letting go. He was still getting used to the amount of physical contact that Brie sometimes initiated. It wasn't that he disliked it, it was more that he was extremely unused to it. There was also that small and petty part of him that didn't want it to seem to onlookers that he didn't dislike Muggles. That nasty part of him grew smaller and quieter with each passing week that he spent in Brie's company. He didn't think it was a bad thing, but it didn't really make the transition more comfortable either. Right this second thought, he didn't really care.


	5. HM5-A Day for Stories

A Day for Stories

Sunday dawned bright and mild and Severus found himself in a much better mood. He even considered going over the essay that had earned a T from the day before, but when he picked it up he decided to leave it as it was. As he re-read a paragraph that, if executed as suggested, would most likely blow the brewers eyebrows off, he pinched the bridge of his nose and glanced at the name at the top of the parchment.

Sighing, he wondered briefly how many more Goyles he would have to endure in the course of his teaching career. Slightly cheered because he was fairly certain there was only one left he dressed and made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast. He was an early riser so the Great Hall was almost deserted when he arrived. Just the way he liked it. Nodding to two students at his own house table he strode up the aisle looking forward to some coffee.

A few students and other professors started to shuffle in as Severus finished breakfast. Exchanging morning chit chat with Minerva, he finished his coffee before rising from the table and nodding to Albus as he sat down. Minerva turned to Dumbledore and, as he left, Severus overheard her saying something that sounded like free otter. Scowling because he had no doubt who Minerva must be talking about he headed back to the dungeons to finish preparing for Mondays class.

He entered the school potions supply closet to gather the unicorn tail hair, ginger roots, and hellebore that would be required for various classes the next day and brought them to his classroom. Going to retrieve his mortar and pestle, he paused by a work table near the front of the room.

Before he had made his horrible horrible error in judgment ('the first of many.' he berated himself) he and Lily had most often shared this table when they had had potions together. He allowed himself to brood for a few minutes before continuing to the store cabinet at the back of the room. He still didn't want to think about Lily and his past actions or her son and the unseen future. He had until next year to get everything straight in his head and heart. As straight as it was going to be.

He had finished gathering his ingredients and had just started grinding moonstones to use in a batch of The Draught Of Peace that Poppy had requested when Brie shuffled in yawning and saying she figured she would find him there.

"You're too predictable Severus. It worries me." She picked up a strand of unicorn hair and studied it for a second before inquiring, "Unicorn hair?"

Ignoring her first comment because he was still brooding over his thoughts Severus looked up and answered, "Correct, but which type?" then returned to his grinding.

Brie studied the hair again with a slight frown. "There are different types? The book I read didn't say anything about different types." She questioned as she stretched her arms above her head then out to the sides working the kinks out of her shoulders.

"No. It was a trick question." Severus answered absently as he used his wand to light a fire under his cauldron and turned to get the first ingredient.

Brie was amused at his level of concentration. Even when brewing the most simple potion the world ceased to exist for him. She would be surprised to know that most people thought the same thing about her when she was working.

"Well I can see you are busy. I'm going to go catch the tail end of breakfast and take care of a few other things. Then I am going to take advantage of this beautiful day." She poked him in the shoulder to get his attention and continued, "Meet me outside later?"

He nodded saying, "This won't take long." and waved her away. "If you stop pestering me." he finished, only half joking. 'And if I can stop thinking about the bloody Brat Who Lived.' the voice in his head put in.

She strolled out the door saying under her breath, "Gee you sure are pleasant in the morning. You might try sleeping later. It could improve your mood."

He meant to make some joke about her morning personality despite her penchant for sleeping later but was already in deep concentration so he merely grunted as she left. An hour and a half later as he handed Poppy the completed potion he assured her that he would make the Pepper-up potion she required sometime during the coming week.

Vaguely remembering Brie's brief morning visit he headed out to the grounds trying to remember if she had said where she was going to be. He was fairly sure she hadn't specified any particular spot so he headed toward the lake thinking that she might be running again today. Perhaps he could try to throw her in again without going in himself this time. On his way he thought he heard something familiar as he passed a small grove of trees. Figuring that he had found her, he went to investigate.

Sure enough as he stepped between the trees and pushed aside a branch he spotted her. She was facing away from him, leaning up against a tree, with a guitar nestled in her lap. Periodically she would stop playing to give one of the tuning keys a turn then continue to strum. Severus hung back for a moment and listened. He had only heard her play once or twice and knew that she was likely to stop if she found that she had an audience. She had probably expected him to take longer to brew the potion and had planned to stop and put the guitar away before he got there.

He was just about to walk over to her when she stopped tuning and started to play an actual song. Hanging back he smiled to himself as he listened to the intro, he was surprised when she started to sing softly.

There are boards on the windows and locks on the doors  
Though there's nothing to keep safe inside anymore  
Just aged yellow paper and old photographs  
Lying there on the floor like some sad epitaph  
Oh lying there on the floor  
Scraps of history lie, not a whole lot more

I'm waiting on the North Central Line  
At a station that has no place or time  
On a platform pushed up against the new highway  
Waiting with the ghosts here at night  
Searching for the tracks or the light  
Of the engines the interstate dusted away  
That train don't stop anymore…

There's a bridge over nothing on the old interstate  
Just past Orleans 'round mile 168  
10 tons of steel over an old railroad bed  
Just in case they decide to bring it back from the dead  
Maybe lay those tracks down once more  
from those city lights  
To the Ontario Shore

And I'm waiting on the North Central Line  
At a station that has no place or time  
On platform that is slowly rotting away  
Waiting with the statues at night  
Searching for what's long out of sight  
At this station pressed up against the new highway  
And the trains don't stop anymore

Gleaming white sign for the last gas station  
Out on the new highway  
Takes on a new kind of personification  
Out on the new highway  
I'm sure that horizon looks just like a mirror  
Out on the new highway  
Maybe your blue reflection's a little bit clearer  
Out on the new highway

The frames of your mind all intertwine  
Out on the new highway  
All of the tears seem a bit less sincere  
Out on the new highway  
The ghosts of the past are all walking at last  
Out on the new highway  
The trains are all gone but your still moving on  
Out on the new highway

Waiting on the North Central Line  
At a station that has no place or time  
On platform where nobody waits anyway  
Waiting is only a word  
That is seldom spoken or heard  
At this station pressed up against the new highway  
And that train don't stop anymore  
No that train don't stop here anymore

Her voice trailed off as the music did and Severus walked over to her and sat down. "That was nice." he said looking impressed because he had never heard her sing before. She had a nice voice. You wouldn't hear her on the wizard wireless, but it was nice nonetheless.

Brie jumped and looked embarrassed. "Oh yeah I'm a super star." She joked. "Someone I know wrote that. I like to hear it sometimes. I didn't know anyone else was around to hear." Reaching for the guitar case meaning to put the instrument away she noticed that Severus looked disappointed so she stopped and laid the guitar on her lap. She wasn't going to sing again but maybe she would keep playing. "You finished up faster than I expected." she said as she ran her fingers lightly over the strings, making little zipping noises.

Smirking as his earlier suspicions were confirmed he answered, "I told you it wouldn't take long if you stopped pestering me."

She let out an exasperated sigh. "Oh from the way you talk someone would think I was in there slamming the cauldrons together or throwing frog guts, or something." She lifted the guitar and resumed playing softly. She wasn't playing anything in particular, just a series of notes and chords that seemed to float away on the gentle breeze.

Severus chose not to answer and instead shifted position so that he was leaning against the same tree Brie was. He couldn't see her face. If he looked over at her only her left ear and cheek were visible to him. He looked straight ahead and, as she played, he would periodically catch a glimpse of her elbow moving out of the corner of his eye.

She looked thoughtful for a moment as she worked her fingers over the guitar's fretboard. Something seemed to be bothering her friend and she had found that one of the only ways to get him to talk when he needed to was to take his mind off whatever was bothering him for awhile. That shouldn't be too hard.

Changing the meandering tune slightly she inquired, "Severus, have you ever heard the Muggle story about the Wicked Witch of the West?", knowing that this would annoy him slightly because she had already told him the story of The Wizard of Oz. He hadn't been happy at all at the character of the evil witch and Brie had tried to explain that good had to have its evil and Glinda the good witch was sort of the balance for the evil witch.

"_I understand the concept." Severus had replied waspishly, "I still dislike the general Muggle portrayal of witches and wizards in their stories and folklore and especially in real life. Don't think that because we aren't in America we don't still learn about The Salem Witch Trials!"_

_Brie had thrown up her hands at his sudden outburst and said, "Hey that was way before my time. I've never even been to Salem and I grew up in Massachusetts, cut me some slack! Anyway you are the one who keeps asking about witches and wizards in Muggle culture." _

_As he got hold of his temper Severus had sighed. "I didn't mean to snap at you. It just makes me angry thats all."_

"_Well if it makes you feel better, not one of the 19 people put to death in Salem was actually a witch." Brie stated, unsure if this would anger him further._

_It hadn't, but it still hadn't changed his opinion. In fact, it reinforced it. "Will you finish the story?" He asked hoping there would be a happy ending._

"_Are you sure?" Brie had asked narrowing her eyes in suspicion._

"_Yes, I won't yell at you again, I just want to know how it ends." _

_Of course Muggles would think that the story ended happily but Severus had really only wanted to know what had become of the witch, so he was disappointed._

"_I didn't like that one." He said to Brie when she had finished._

"_I didn't think you would but its a big one in my world." she had replied, sorry because he was upset. "There is a different version of the story. I'll tell you some day because I think you will like it better." She had put her head on his shoulder, and sighed. After some hesitation Severus had gently laid his own head on hers and placed an arm around her shoulder, hoping she would understand that he wasn't mad at her._

"Yes, as I recall I didn't care for that story." Severus answered wondering why she was asking. It hadn't been that long ago that she had told him that particular disappointing tale.

Brie heard the slightly waspish tone and grinned to herself. Getting Severus's mind off what was bothering him was going to be even easier than she thought. "No no not that story, Professor Sunshine." For effect she stopped playing with an abrupt clatter of chords.

The harsh noise and sudden silence snapped his focus to her. She was looking over at him and he could see by the glimmer in her eye that she was up to something so he answered cautiously, "The version I'll supposedly like better?"

She grinned and continued playing as she turned to lean against the tree again. "Well, it doesn't end any better for the witch I'm sorry to say but it does cast her in an entirely different light which I think you will like."

"But in the end its the same?" He asked doubtfully.

"Essentially the same, but much different at the same time." she answered. "Would you like to hear it?"

Intrigued and unsure of how the story could end the same way and be different at the same time, Severus answered, "I am already confused but I suppose I would still like to hear it."

So Brie proceeded to tell him all she could remember of the book she had come across the summer before, all the while weaving chords and melodies as she spoke. She told of the witch's odd birth and questionable parentage, how she had been born green in a world where no one was green. She told of an Oz where Munchkinland was brought to its knees by drought and different faiths warred. An Oz where poor munchkin farmers toiled and other people lived in luxury while others were persecuted for their differences and still more choose to live in remote mountain areas cut off from all of Oz. She moved onto the tale of the Wizard's arrival, the brutal overthrowing of the current government and the subsequent campaigns of the Wizard with prejudices against sentient Animals and different races of Oz's people.

Severus soon found himself caught up in the less than fairy tale world that she was crafting for him as he listened to the constant underscore of music she provided for her narrative. She continued on as the young witch started school and found herself room mates with Glinda the good witch.

He stretched out in the grass next to Brie as the disenchanted young witch left school and moved to the Emerald City where she became a spy for an Animal rights resistance group and took a secret lover who was subsequently killed by the Wizards forces. After the great trauma of failing her biggest mission and losing her lover the witch took refuge with a group of religious women similar to muggle nuns and when the time came for her to leave and confront her secret lover's family, they sent a child along with her.

Brie moved on to the bizarre occurrences with and deaths of the secret lover's family, again by the Wizard's forces and the questionable parentage of the child. "So this is kind of where the Wizard of Oz story starts to get mixed in." she said as she stopped playing to stretch out her shoulders. "The witch is out in the west of Oz living in a castle stronghold in the mountains and Dorothy and her awful little dog fall out of the sky, landing their house right on the witch's sister. Glinda gives her the famed ruby slippers and sends her down the yellow brick road where she meets all her friends on the way. She gets to the wizard who tells her to go kill the Wicked Witch of the West." Brie recapped as she flexed her fingers and lifted the guitar again.

"Now here is where it starts to go the same, but different." The music resumed, taking him back to the world she had crafted. "The witch had been getting more and more eccentric and apprehensive since the Wizard's army had taken and killed the family of her lover. She spent a great deal of time trying to figure out some way of uniting all the people of Oz to overthrow the Wizard and end his strangle hold on the country. Some would probably say she was going crazy, and maybe she was because she also happened to be sewing wings onto monkeys. What she didn't know was that the Wizard considered her a great threat to his rule in Oz and had been trying to keep an eye on her since her days as a spy in the Emerald City." She strummed out a dramatic discord, again purely for effect.

Severus looked over at her in surprise and she smiled back in triumph. "Just making sure you were paying attention." She continued to play and the music took on a dramatic edge. "So as this story goes, Dorothy makes her way out to the castle stronghold and finds the witch there, crazy as a loon. Of course there is a giant misunderstanding and somehow the witch catches her clothing on fire and Dorothy helpfully throws a handy bucket of water on her. Unknowingly but no less efficiently ending her life." Brie stopped playing again and laid the guitar in its case. "So the question that this story raises is, was the witch really evil?" She stretched out on her back next to Severus and watched the clouds float by through the tree branches.

Severus propped himself up on his elbows and frowned down at her. "I don't think I can answer that question." He said.

Brie looked up into his perplexed face and said, "I had to read the book twice before I figured out my own opinion. I have it in my rooms somewhere. Would you like to read it?"

"Yes." He laid back and thought for a minute. "So what is your opinion about the witch?"

"I'm not telling you till you read the whole book. There are probably a ton of details I forgot to tell you about anyway." She rolled over on her side and propped herself up on one elbow so she could look at him. The first part of her plan to distract him and get Severus to talk about what was bothering him had worked. Now the second part involved a Severus style bluntness that she had perfected over the course of the last year. "So now its your turn to tell me a story. Whats been on your mind the last few days Severus? Something is bothering you, I can tell."

He sat bold upright as if someone had shot him out of a cannon then sprang to his feet and started to pace the small grove of trees that concealed them. Brie had been expecting something like this and was prepared to spring as well. She was up by the time Severus had reached the trees on the far side of the grove and turned around.

As he turned he was surprised to find her already on her feet. 'She moves like a bloody Aethonon.' he thought. He'd bet his best cauldron that this is what that glimmer in her eye had been about. Trying to figure out the best way to recapture the lazy ease they had had before her question, he strolled back toward her and sat down again. "I don't know what you are talking about." he tried, already knowing that it wasn't going to work.

She sat as well folding her legs under her and leaning out as she said, "So you shot up like that because...what, did something bite you or maybe someone cast a jumping jinx on you?" She knew it might take awhile to drag it out of him.

"Look." she continued as he started to fidget and look uncomfortable, "you don't have to tell me, but talking about whatever it is will probably make you feel better. Might even help you figure it out, if whatever it is needs figuring." She looked him steadily in the eye for awhile then said, "OK, well where's my wizard story? You got a song and a story so it's only fair I get at least a story."

"You didn't know I was there for the song." His mind was still reeling at her emotional pinpoint accuracy. She could tell something was bothering him even when he was trying to ignore it himself. She had brutally and bluntly dug through to a problem that he was trying to bury deep and then told him he could keep it to himself if he still chose to do so.

"That doesn't matter!" she answered with a laugh, "You still heard it AND I told you a whole long story on top of that AND I played the guitar throughout the whole dam thing! Give it up Severus, tell me something I've never heard before."

She could make it that easy, he though. One second she could be holding the roots of his problem in front of his face making him aware that she could see right through him and the next second she could tell him that he didn't have to talk to her about it, but would always be there if he changed his mind. Then she could smooth it all over and bring everything back to the way it had been before.

His mind reeled as the past pushed itself into the front of his thoughts and he briefly saw Lily's pretty face in his mind's eye. 'Should I tell her?' he wondered to himself looking down at a different pretty face. This was something no one knew, something that he just didn't talk about.

He knew he would have to tell her parts of the whole sad story before the next school year started, but he hadn't yet decided what parts in particular he was going to mention. It was a long complicated story now that he really though it through. One thing connected to another to another to another. It would be hard to tell her anything without telling her everything, and no matter how he told it he knew he wouldn't come out looking well at all.

She would ask questions anyway, even if he didn't tell her. She was far too observant and far too curious not to notice something. She basically had just proven that she already could see a change in him.

Still wondering what to do, Severus took out his wand and rose to cast a silencing charm around their grove of trees. Brie watched him in surprise wondering what he was up to. She recognized the silencing charm. She was getting pretty good at recognizing spells. "You're not going to tell me a naughty story that wouldn't be suitable for children are you?" she started to joke before he turned toward her and she saw his face. "Severus are you OK?" she questioned with concern in her eyes.

"I'm fine." he lied with his voice unsteady. "I have a story, its a complicated and sad story. I don't think you will like it."

"Tell me anyway." Brie said as she patted the ground next to her, inviting him to sit down. Severus shook his head and started to pace around the grove of trees with long jerky strides as he would whenever he was agitated. 'How to start?' He wondered. 'How do you reveal the worst thing about yourself?' Maybe the easiest way would be to tell it like a story. "Once upon a time" he began, using the most common opening phrase from Brie's fairy tales. "not so long ago, there lived a little witch and a little wizard..."

As the story unraveled, Severus started to slow his pacing and eventually took the seat that Brie had offered at the start of his tale. He felt the familiar emotional upheaval that this story always brought him, along with an equally familiar soul bruising sadness that bordered on despair. But somehow this time, it was different. He was willingly telling his tale to someone he was starting to feel close to, someone he felt some kind of connection to despite their substantial differences. It was a story he had never told anyone and the only other person in the world who knew it in it's entirety was Albus. Somehow that was like a balm to his bruised soul.

He told her the whole thing. From the childhood friendship he and Lily had shared when he taught her all about the magical world, to their early school days. He told of James Potter and the Marauders and the awful day he had called Lily a Mudblood.

Not sparing himself at all he finally got to the point where he had joined the Death Eaters, overheard the prophecy, and relayed the information to the Dark Lord. He wanted nothing more than to stop at this point but willed himself on, telling her about how the Dark Lord had targeted Lily and her family because of the information contained in the prophecy.

"I begged the Dark Lord not to hurt her." He said heavily, "Then I went to Dumbledore." Watching as her eyes widened, he continued on telling how he had turned spy for the Order and Dumbledore had given him the Potion Master position.

"Wait, wait," she interrupted at that point. "So you were spying for the Order and this Dark Lord Whoever thought that you were still loyal and spying for him? Holy Underwear Batman, you must have nerves of steel!" She was worried for Severus, he looked so miserable she could practically see the self loathing swirling around him.

"I am simply good at Occlumency and Legilimency." he said listlessly. "Who's Batman?"

"Just a Muggle superhero. He doesn't really exist, forget him for now." She waved her hand in the air as if pushing the issue aside. "What are Legilimency and Occlumency?" She questioned because she was surprised that he had never spoken of these talents. She had yet to come across any mention of them in the library either.

"The ability to extract emotions and memory from other people's minds and the ability to protect your own mind from outside intruders." He answered. "Batman wears holey underwear?"

"Forget about Batman!" she was glad to see the small glimmer of humor but this new piece of information startled her. "You can read minds? Can all witches and wizards read minds?" she asked looking alarmed. "Are you reading my mind right now?"

"Legilimency is not mind reading in the strictest sense of the term, but close enough I suppose. Very few witches and wizards learn the skills. I wouldn't invade your thoughts like that Brie."

Wanting to be done as quickly as possible he sighed and forged ahead telling her about Sirius Black's betrayal as Secret Keeper and how, without the protection of the Fidelus charm, the Dark Lord had found and killed Lily and James but somehow their son had lived against all odds and seemingly defeated the Dark Lord.

"and next year Harry Bloody Potter, The Boy Who Lived, comes to Hogwarts." he finished feeling exhausted emotionally and physically.

They sat together in silence for a few minutes and the only sounds were the wind rustling through the trees and birds singing. Suddenly Severus heard a soft sniffle and turned toward Brie finding her with tears running down her face. Horrified because he had made her cry he reached over and patted her hand awkwardly while saying, "I didn't mean for you to cry. I told you that you wouldn't like it. Perhaps I should have said that you probably wouldn't like me by the end." He started to take his hand away but she turned her own hand over and held it.

Brie swiped at her streaming cheeks with her other hand and hastily assured him that she was OK. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I hate crying, I'll stop." Taking a deep shuttering breath she tried to explain why she had been crying. "I don't know what to say Severus. Everything you just told me was so awful and sad, but you loved Lily so much that that loved changed you." she stopped and considered what to say next. "I know you must have done some horrible things while you were with those Death Eater people, but you turned it around, realized what was important and started to fight for what was right. I think that is a really critical point." She gave his hand a squeeze and finished, "but you are right, overall I didn't like that story."

"I don't like it either." He said, feeling himself slipping into a despondent mood and releasing her hand. Suddenly he didn't want to talk about it anymore. He wasn't sure if Brie really understood the depth of the pain and sadness he felt over the last part of his friendship with Lily and their estrangement and his involvement in her death. Aside from the day Lily had died, he had never felt any worse than he had on the day she had given up and walked away from him or the day he realized the Dark Lord was targeting her.

Not wanting to upset Brie, Severus controlled the urge to go brood somewhere by himself. "I would rather not discuss it anymore." he told her bluntly. "I think I deserve another story, something foolish. Tell me about Batman."

She frowned for a second hoping that simply telling the story had not done more damage than good, then gave in and said, "You certainly do, this is a day for stories. I don't know much about Batman, so he will have to wait for another day. Let me think a minute." After thinking about it for a little while an idea popped into her head and made her smile. "Ok, I have one. This one you should like." Wanting nothing more than to take Severus's mind off his troubles again, she began, "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..."


	6. HM6-Lines of Communication

Lines of Communication

After lunch Severus said he was low on certain potion ingredients that could be gathered from the Forbidden Forest. Brie figured that he wanted to be alone after his emotional purge so they parted ways. After he left, she walked slowly to her rooms thinking about everything Severus had told her.

It was a lot to take in and she briefly wondered how she could find out more about these Death Eater people before deciding that she probably didn't want to know anymore than Severus had already told her for now. They sounded horrible.

Had she and Severus not become friendlier over the past years then she probably would not have had a hard time believing that he had once been part of something like that. Now though, pretty much everything she had learned about Severus since he'd started to let go of his silly Muggle prejudices made her wonder why he would have been part of something so sinister. Severus Snape had become her yardstick for not judging books by covers and she had a feeling that there was even more to his story than he had told her that afternoon. She hadn't wanted to interrupt him as the story had spilled out, but now she had questions that she kind of wished she had asked anyway.

Still troubled by her thoughts she absently gave the troll in the painting the password to her rooms. "Bitis gabonica_"_ She had used this password frequently since her first week at Hogwarts because she knew she would never forget it and no one here would ever guess it either. She had periodically changed it over the years but eventually always went back. Walking into the drawing room she noticed a plate of cookies on her desk and knew that Lully had visited while she had been out.

Smiling in spite of herself over the sweets she wondered when, if ever, the little elf would stop. At least once every few weeks Brie would come in and find another plate of cookies. She actually never wanted to see another chocolate chip cookie much less eat one so she would bring them into class tomorrow.

Her head hurt slightly as she considered Severus' troubles. When she had questioned him this morning she would never have guessed that there was such a long and frankly tragic story haunting him. She envied his emotional control to some degree but knew what holding in that much pain and grief could do to you. She thought back to the days when she had first meet Severus and suddenly his behavior then seemed more understandable. No less rude or annoying, but more forgivable now in any case.

She felt guilty for pressing him to tell her his problem but tried to console herself. She had only been trying to help. For weeks she had sensed that something was bothering him and his ever shortening temper had confirmed her suspicions more than once. She had simply seen the problem bubbling at the surface this morning. 'Way to play amateur shrink, genius.' she thought to herself. 'Now he feels worse than when you started. Bravo!' She imagined she heard the slow mocking applause of a single set of hands echoing in her mind as she put her guitar away.

Sighing and wondering how to fix her mistake she wandered over to the bookcase and scanned the titles, coming across the book about the Wicked Witch which she put aside, remembering that Severus wanted to borrow it. The question foremost in her mind now was whether or not he regretted telling her about his past. He had been disheartened when they went their separate ways after lunch, which was understandable but for some unknown reason Brie felt that it wasn't just telling her the story that had him looking so blue. Frustrated because she couldn't put her finger on why she felt that way, she grabbed a book at random and threw herself bad temperedly down on the couch.

Unable to concentrate she tossed the book aside and strode over to the desk. After pushing aside the plate of cookies she sat and pulled out the stationary and pens she always brought from home because she disliked parchment and quills. One surefire way to take her mind off what was bothering her was to write to Evan, the manager of her reptile facility in Arizona, and check up on things. Evan also happened to be her closest friend back home and the only person who knew the truth about where she went fall to spring. She considered him her right and left hand man and trusted him completely. Sitting back and tapping the pen on her chin she wondered briefly what to write.

**-Evan,**

**Your last letter made me laugh but I am sorry to hear about the broken ribs. You know I speak from experience when I say they heal quickly enough. Next time you fall down a hill try not to hit any trees or rocks on the way and for the love of Jack try not to kill yourself releasing the snakes. Catching a Massasauga? Fine go for it. Just make sure you get it back to the lab before you keel over.**

**Everything is about the same here. Stranger in a strange land, I guess you could say.**

**As usual I will be back the last week in June so I would appreciate it if you could send over all the details regarding this summers filming schedule. Where are we going this year, Sri Lanka? I can't remember anymore. I'll also need lists of any of the snakes that need to be released back into the wild and any that need to be collected. Try to keep it on one continent this time if you can.**

**Don't we need to return anything to Trinidad or Martinique? I could use a tan. We are totally using charter jets this year, I can't stand so many commercial flights.**

**I also want to try to work in vacations for as many of the handlers as possible, you included, so send the summer work schedule too. I know you guys bust your butts while I'm away. We'll try to power through as much as we can while I'm there so things don't pile up on you after I leave again.**

**Hopefully everything is going well at the lab. Keep me updated and I will see you in a few months. And don't you dare think about handling anything remotely venomous until those ribs are healed and you can move properly! If there is a venom milking day scheduled, change it. I'd rather lose some money then lose you. Always remember, do as I say not as I do!**

**-Brea**

She folded the letter, sealed it, and wrote Evan's name across the front before leaving her rooms and making her way to the Owlery. When she arrived she walked over to a large gray barn owl and ran her finger down his back to wake him up. "Got a job for you Icarus." she said softly as she handed him the letter. "Make sure Evan is alone before you give it to him, and stay till he sends something back."

Icarus hooted softly and took off with a rush of air and feathers. As Brie leaned on the windowsill and watched him till he was only a dot on the horizon, she remembered the day shortly before the end of her first year when Hagrid and Dumbledore had given Icarus to her as a going away present. They had said it was so she wouldn't forget Hogwarts and her new friends but she knew that they were worried she wouldn't want to return for the next school year if she still had no way to contact anyone outside the school.

Throughout the latter part of that first year she had become increasingly agitated because she never knew what was going on at her own facility.

"_Albus for all I know there has been a mass breakout at the facility and all my staff and half the town of Sedona are dead." she placed her hands on his desk and leaned forward so she could look him in the eye. "I need to be able to contact at least one person back home!"_

"_Aren't you being a bit dramatic?" Dumbledore had asked while holding out a small bowl filled with lemon drops._

_She took one and popped it in her mouth saying, "Absolutely not. 1 teaspoon of venom from some of those snakes is enough to kill 10 full grown men and my staff handles them all on an almost daily basis."_

"_But half the town of Sandoval?" He took a lemon drop for himself._

"_Sedona, and it could happen...maybe." she sensed defeat and sat abruptly. "A tornado... earthquake... zombie apocalypse..." she trailed off. "Ok so realistically not half the town of Sedona barring some bizarre simultaneous breakout, but any one of my staff at anytime." She rose and began to pace around the office, unwilling to give up. "Albus, imagine how you would feel if you were trying to run the school by proxy and the school was filled with deadly creatures that had the potential to kill everyone. If I can't be kept informed while I am here, then I can't be here."_

_Dumbledore had stood and gone to put his arm around Brie's shoulder. "I suppose we will have to find you a way then. "_

"_Won't owls deliver to Muggles?" she questioned having already put some thought into the subject. "Oh! Is America too far away to fly to?_

"_Owls will deliver to whoever they are told to, but wouldn't you have a hard time explaining why your mail is picked up and delivered by an owl?" he inquired with raised eyebrows. _

"_Not as much trouble as you would think. Most of my friends are very open minded and besides, they are used to weird things from me. I play with deadly animals! When I was 10 I trained my cat to sit up, lay down and use the toilet!" she smiled and continued. "Anyway I would only need to contact the manager of venom lab. Handily, he is also my closest friend and already thinks that I am overseas to teach. So I will just have to fill in a few gaps...hmmm a few really big unbelievable gaps actually. Alright, so it might take awhile to bring him up to speed but after I get him drunk and the shock wears off, he will be perfectly fine. I hope." she had shrugged and turned her face to Dumbledore. "Unless you have another idea?"_

_Dumbledore thought for a minute before replying, "There may be other ways but your idea would be easiest as some larger owls can fly very long distances. Do you really think you can convince your friend?"_

"_Its worth a shot. Either he will believe me and I will be able to come back next year or he'll think I'm crazy and quit, in which case I'll be up the creek no matter where I am." she replied, "I say we try. Send me an owl at the beginning of August. If I can convince Evan not to throw me in the rubber Ramada, I'll come back next year."_

"_Fair enough" Dumbledore chuckled_

A week before the end of term Albus asked her to meet him in his office and he and Hagrid had presented her with the owl and their story about a present to remind her of Hogwarts.

"_Now you can send him to me whenever you are able to convince your friend that you are not a nutter." Dumbledore had whispered to her with a smile. He pushed something small and rectangular into her hands "Take this in case you need something to convince him with. All you have to do is click it." _

_She looked down at what appeared to be a small silver cigarette lighter. "What does it do?" she asked sounding awed._

"_If you need to use it you will find out." he smiled as he watched her examine the Deluminator. "You can send it back with your new owl."_

It had taken an entire bottle of Tequila split between them to even get Evan to consider that she might be teaching young witches and wizards about non magical people at some hidden school of sorcery. She always suspected that the only reason he hadn't walked away was because of the deep respect, trust and understanding that had grown up between them during their years of association. You could learn to trust anyone when you risked your lives together on a daily basis.

He had been convinced when she had pulled the Deluminator from her pocket and clicked it, making every light in the room go out with a pop. She had clicked it again and the lights had flown from it back to the lamps.

They had talked more the next morning, both nursing nasty hangovers, and she had convinced him to keep in touch with her by owl. She suspected he had only finally agreed because his head had been pounding as badly as hers, but at least next year she would know what was going on while she was away.

Brie was about to push away from the window when she spotted Severus emerging from the Forbidden Forest with his arms full of weird looking flowers. She could tell by his hunched shoulders that he was still dispirited. She turned away from the window after he disappeared into the castle and sighed, still worried about him.

He didn't come to dinner that night and she didn't see him between classes or at mealtimes throughout the next few days. No longer able to wait around and wonder if Severus was avoiding her, she snatched up the book he wanted to borrow and made her way toward the dungeons.


	7. HM7-One Last Story

One Last Story

Severus had had a horrible day and was looking forward to relaxing with a glass of nettle wine and his new copy of Brewing Today, the quarterly potions publication. During morning classes some idiotic third year had melted a cauldron while attempting to make a simple shrinking solution, then the bloody Weasley twins had blown their potion sky high, splattering the dungeon and everyone in it with swelling solution. As this happened at least once a year he had had plenty of deflating draught on hand.

After pouring a glass of wine, he sank into his favorite chair. He had been unable to shake the dark mood that had closed in around him that weekend no matter how many points he removed or how many detentions with Filch he gave out. His thoughts kept drifting back to Lily. Last night he had dreamed of her.

_They had been 16 or 17, playing on the swings in the park as they had when they were children. Neither spoke as they swung higher and higher. Lily had let go of the chains that held the swing and flown through the air just as she had on the day so long ago when he had watched her from behind the bushes._

_After landing lightly she had turned and held out her hand saying, "Sev, you have to stop, you have to come with me." Her beautiful green eyes were heart wrenchingly sad. "I can't wait anymore. I won't ask again."_

_Severus tried to get up but was unable to move or speak. He could only watch helplessly as Lily dropped her hand and slowly backed away never taking her eyes from his._

_There had been a blinding flash of light and for a split second the only thing he could see through the brightness was Lily's sad eyes. He blinked and suddenly found himself standing in the ruins of Lily's house. Lighting zig-zagged through the night sky and James Potter lay motionless and face down on the floor by the door. Feeling the same crushing sadness and self loathing from 10 years before, he looked toward the staircase that led to the second floor and involuntarily started to move toward it._

Severus had tossed in his sleep and strained his head away from the dream image of the staircase in Lily's home. He didn't want to go up there again, not ever, not even in a dream. He wrenched himself awake with a conscious effort and sat up panting and shaking. As he buried his face in his hands, a single sob had escaped. She had tried so many times to turn him away from dark magic. Now she was gone because he was a fool. He hadn't been able to go back to sleep afterward.

Now he frowned and studied the play of light and liquid in his wine glass as it sat on the side table. His dream of Lily wasn't the only thing on his mind that night. He still couldn't help but feel that while Brie had understood more that he had expected her to in terms of his past actions and connection with Lily, she still couldn't understand his guilt over her death. In his mind he had been the cause. It didn't matter that Black had told the Dark Lord where to find Lily. He himself had been responsible for the Dark Lord targeting her family in the first place.

Exhausted, because he had been unable to get back to sleep the night before, he drifted off still sitting in his chair. This time he dreamed of Brie.

_They were walking side by side through a dense jungle and she was dragging something behind her. He tried to turn and see what it was but everything behind them was overly bright and blurry. All he could make out was a blur of greens and browns with the occasional burst of bright red or yellow. Whatever she was struggling to drag behind her was heavy and she was breathing in short gasps but she moved ahead steadily._

_He looked over and tried to ask where they were and what they were doing but once again found that he couldn't speak. Something snapped in the bushes next to him and as she turned her head warily in the direction of the sound, he saw that her sapphire eyes were inexorably sad and that she had been crying hard. Suddenly her eyes found his and held. "I might understand more tha__n__ you think Sev__erus__." _

_He tried to reach out and put his hand on her shoulder but she bled away like ink on parchment left out in the rain. _

He woke as the image faded, more confused than ever, then realized that a knocking at his door had pulled him out of his dream. He rose feeling flustered and went to answer the door, finding Brie standing on the other side.

Holding up the book she had brought with her she said, "I'm using this as a flimsy excuse to come over and see how you are."

Severus stood aside and invited her in while saying, "That's honest at least." He poured another glass of wine and offered it to her. "I'm fine. Just...a bit down I suppose." He gestured toward the sofa meaning for her to take a seat, then turned to pick up his own wine. "I haven't been avoiding you." he added softly, almost as an after thought.

As she accepted the wine, she handed over the book and took a seat. "I didn't say that you had been." she said with raised eyebrows as she took a sip. "Interesting, very interesting." Smiling at Severus' suddenly hunched shoulders she continued, "Even if you have been avoiding me, it's ok."

Severus turned to protest, even though he had been avoiding her a little... a lot, but she held up her hand to stop him. "I said if, Severus. IF you have been avoiding me, it's ok. It would just be nice to know why IF you were" She took another sip of wine. "But you're not so we don't have a problem."

'How does she DO that?' he thought to himself. "Well, maybe I was avoiding you just a little." he relented.

"A little?" she smiled holding her finger and thumb a half inch away from each other. "I was contemplating bringing you some food to be sure you weren't starving yourself."

"I had the house elves bring meals here." He mumbled

"Well that's good." She answered. Then she took a deep breath and burst out, " Listen Severus, I'm sorry about the other day. I didn't know you had such a huge thing weighing you down. I shouldn't have pushed you, I just thought that talking about whatever it was that was bothering you would make you feel better. I didn't mean to upset you further or make you relive those hard times. I'm really really sorry."

He was shocked by the rapid flow of her words. It was as if she couldn't get them out fast enough. "Don't be sorry. You didn't push me to tell you anything. I have been meaning to tell you for months but didn't know how to start." He sipped his wine. "I couldn't very well have just burst out with, Say did you know that almost ten years ago I killed my best friend in the world and next year her son is coming to the school, now could I?

"You could have but I wouldn't have believed you." She frowned at his choice of words. "You didn't kill her, you tried to protect her."

"She is dead because of the information that I provided to the Dark Lord." he said shortly. "Please don't try to convince me otherwise."

"Ok." she said. "I guess I know how you feel a little bit."

"Actually, that is what has been bothering me." Severus saw the opening and went for it despite the uncomfortable feeling in his chest. He didn't normally talk about such things, mostly because he didn't have anyone he felt close enough to talk to. "I don't think you can understand the guilt that I live with everyday because I was the cause of her death. How could you? How could anyone?"

Understanding dawned on Brie's face. "Now I see." she said. "I know that it is hard to believe, but I do know how you feel, in a way" She held up her hand again when she saw him open his mouth to protest. "Let me tell you another story. A story I've never really told anyone. Its only fair to warn you that you won't like it, and I probably will be crying by the end."

"You don't have to." He said, alarmed because she hated to cry and did so rarely, which made it so much worse when she actually did.

"No I do. It's important." She took a deep breath and let it out on a long sigh. There would be no once upon a time for this story. "It's my fault that my husband died." she began bluntly and immediately felt a lump starting to form in her throat.

"You said he was bitten while trying to capture some kind of venomous snake." He replied, puzzled

"He was, but what I didn't tell you was that I was with him when it happened." She tried to swallow the lump, but it wouldn't go down. "Rogan and I were filming and collecting specimen in Gabon, Africa. Normally we would have had people with us, manning the cameras and mics and lights and stuff, but we had wrapped up filming a week before we expected to so the film crew took the week off. Rogan and I still had to try to collect at least one Gaboon viper so we packed up our supplies and went off into the jungle to try one last time. We thought we might have a better chance of finding what we needed if we weren't bogged down by the camera crew. It's pretty much impossible to move quietly through the jungle with that many people. We had planned to hike in for 2 days then hike back out in time to meet up with the crew and catch the flight home." She stopped and took a sip of wine, hoping to wash away the lump in her throat that seemed to be getting bigger.

"We couldn't find that species of viper to save our lives so we took a chance and kept hiking for one more day. We had stopped for a break near a little pond that was fed by a stream when, like magic, a Gaboon viper swam right by." A tear rolled down her cheek and the lump in her throat swelled, choking off her words. She tried to clear her throat and swiped at the tear as it made its way down her cheek.

"Rogan sprang up and dove right in with out even a stick to handle the thing with. I didn't know what was going on at first but then I saw him grab it by the tail and start to make his way back to the bank. He was calling to me for the handling tools so that he could safely get it out of the water, but they were tied to my bag and I couldn't... I couldn't..." She broke off with a sudden choked sob.

"I don't think I can finish." she said with one hand covering her eyes. "I didn't think it would be this hard after so many years." She drew a shuttering breath.

Severus moved to sit next to her on the sofa and awkwardly put his arm around her shoulders, drawing her close to his side. "It's ok." He whispered, turning his face into her hair without thinking. "It's ok."

"No it's not." She replied. "I shouldn't still be falling apart over it." She shook her head and bumped his nose. He backed away a bit and dropped his arm from her shoulder. She hadn't realized his face was so close to her head. It was a bit unusual for him to get so close on his own.

They sat in silence for a few minutes each lost in their own separate thoughts. Finally Brie asked softly, "Severus, the other day you said that you can extract emotions and memory from other people's minds. Could you do that now? I don't think I can finish, but I need you to know what happened." She looked at him imploringly and he couldn't refuse.

"Bring the memory to the front of your mind." he said softly while turning to face her. "Now look into my eyes." Brie turned her face toward him and looked into his eyes with complete trust in him. "Legilimens."

Suddenly bits of her memories filled his mind. Palm trees blowing gently in a breeze, a large black cobra standing with its hood spread wide and hissing, a dozen candles on a decorated cake, a laughing young girl who looked much like Brie but with brown eyes, a black cat curled in a patch of sunshine, and finally a jungle.

He recognized Brie kneeling on the ground a little way away from a small pond. She was struggling to untie the strings that held a large hook and a set of metal tongs to her backpack. Severus could hear a man's voice calling out for her.

"_Brea come on, I don't know how much longer I can hold it! He's feisty."_

_Brie continued to tug at the strings holding the instruments while calling back. "You were the last one to tie this stuff up! Then you go diving in the water without so much as a warning shout!" The instruments finally came free and Brie jumped up shouting, "Got em'! I'm coming." She ran toward the water with the hook and tongs in one hand, just as a tall man with sandy hair and hazel eyes walked up the bank holding a long heavily bodied snake, shaking water out of his face, and shouting, "Woohoo! Hes really agitated, he doesn't want to be here! Stand back."_

"_Be careful Rogan!" As she approached Brie held the hook out toward him and pulled a large white cloth bag from her belt just as the snake looped up over its own body and sank its fangs into Rogan's right forearm so quickly that he had no time to react. "Oh my God no!" She shouted running the last few steps toward him._

"_Get the bag open!" he shouted as she approached. Brie held the bag open as he lifted the snake up and shook it off his arm so that it dropped into the bag. He then immediately sat on the ground and examined the bite area. "I can't believe it got me" he said weakly. "Those are supposed to be docile and sluggish."_

_Brie twisted the top of the bag around itself several times then tied it in a knot. "Let me see, maybe it was a dry bite." she said with suppressed panic in her voice. She looked at the arm that Rogan held out and cursed under her breath before dashing back to her bag and dragging it over to him. _

"_It could be a dry bite. It could." She sounded unconvinced. "Lay down!" she ordered as she rooted through the bag and came up with a long roll of bandages and a pair of scissors. "Lose the sleeve." she said, handing him the scissors. As Brie quickly searched the surrounding area, Rogan used the scissors to cut the sleeve from his shirt._

_She came back with a thick stick, snapping it over her knee so that it was slightly shorter than his arm. Taking his arm and pressing the stick to the inside of it, she started to roll the bandages around both stick and arm from wrist to shoulder. "Too tight!" Rogan grunted, but Brie ignored him._

"_Its gotta be tight if you want to keep that arm." As she finished she tucked in the end of the bandage. "By the time I get back to the village and bring someone out here it will be too late." she said._

"_I feel fine." he said, getting up._

_Brie pushed him back down saying, "No don't move, maybe I can get some branches and make some sort of sled." She began to look around._

_Rogan stood saying, "There is no way you are going to be able to drag me through this jungle Brea!"_

"_Don't tell me what I can't do." she answered still looking around for sturdy branches and vines._

_He walked over to the bag holding the snake and picked it up along with the tools that Brie had dropped. "Well you can't because I won't let you. I'm ok, it probably was a dry bite. Lets just start back. We won't stop to sleep tonight."_

"_Rogan, seriously. What are the chances that the snake that holds the world record for largest amount of venom delivered in a single bite just gave you a dry bite?"_

"_Well we are wasting time arguing then. The only way for me to get out of here is under my own steam, so let's go!" He picked up a second pack from against a tree and started to walk away from the waters edge._

_Brie grabbed her own pack and ran after him calling, "At least let me carry the stuff! The more you carry the faster your heart rate will be and the faster the venom will work its way through your system!"_

"_Fine, here. Thanks for the toxicology lesson." He smiled and handed everything over. Brie put one backpack on her back and the other on her front and carried the bag with the snake in it in her hand. They continued to walk, pushing aside brush as they went. Neither spoke for some time but as the sun started to set Rogan finally stopped and sat down against a tree saying, "I've got to sit, I've been feeling woozy for a half hour now." _

_Brie stopped and dropped all the gear and knelt down next to him offering a container of water which he took gratefully. "I guess we can stop hoping its a dry bite." he said listlessly. "My throat is so swollen I can barely swallow. I don't think I'm going to make it Brea, its happening really fast. It must have been a ton of venom." He unwound the bandages covering his arm and revealed the bite wound which was turning a very unpleasant shade of black and swelling rapidly. "The dizziness is probably hypotension."_

_Brie choked back a sob and threw her arms around Rogan. "I love you." she sobbed into his neck. With tears running down his face he put his uninjured arm around her and buried his face in her hair. "I love you too. I'm so sorry." They stayed together that way for a long time until suddenly Rogan broke away and gripped his injured arm with a groan._

"_Oh God it hurts!" he said "Brea I'm scared." He tried to take her hand but his movements had become clumsy and uncoordinated._

_Brie took his hand in hers, held it to her cheek and kissed his palm. "Try not to be scared sweetheart. I'm right here with you." She breathed deeply trying to control her tears. "I'm right here and I love you. I'll always love you." Rogan tried to smile but suddenly his face contorted with pain and his body started to convulse. After a few minutes he went still._

_Brie placed her fingers on his neck checking for a pulse, her tears now flowing freely. She laid him on the ground and pulled a blanket out of her pack. After covering him with the blanket she knelt and lifted his head onto her lap. _

_All through the night Brie stayed with Rogan running her hand over his hair. When the sun finally started to rise __and the birds started to sing,__ she checked his pulse again then bent over him sobbing her heart out, moaning and shaking with grief. __The singing birds went silent and took flight all at once at the sound of her wails.__ When she had no more tears left she gently placed his head on the ground and pulled the blanket up over his face. With her own face grim and set she rose and started to gather branches and vines. _

Severus pulled back out of Brie's memory and looked at her. Tears were coursing down her cheeks as she drew a shaky breath and said, "I didn't know that I would see it too."

"I'm sorry, I should have told you." Something clicked in Severus's mind as he looked into Brie's sad eyes. He frowned in concentration and ran a hand through his hair. "Right before you came here tonight I fell asleep briefly and dreamed you and I were walking through a jungle and you were dragging something behind you. Everything behind us was blurry so I couldn't see what it was. You turned to me and said that you might understand more than I thought, then I woke up."

"I lashed a bunch of branches together and pulled him out with me. It took four days." She wiped the tears from her cheeks and thought for a moment. "What do you think the dream means?" She asked, hoping that Severus wouldn't ask any further into that part of the story. She didn't want to relive those four days. They had been the worst, most difficult and most dangerous of her life.

Now, whenever she went out to film the entire crew was fitted out with GPS tracking devices and no one was allowed far from the main group with less than 3 people in their party. It wouldn't help Rogan, but she'd be damned if she or any part of her crew would go though anything like that ever again. Getting the production company to pay for the GPS tracking had been hard. She basically had to refuse to start filming again after Rogan's death until they gave in and added them to the list of required equipment.

"I'm not sure but for now its not important." He hadn't meant to get distracted from what he had just seen. From the way Brie usually spoke of her husband and his death, a rare occasion in and of itself, he would have never guessed that it had been such a horrible and drawn out ordeal for her. "Brie, I was wrong when I said you couldn't understand how I felt." He took one of her hands loosely in his. "You think it is your fault because you couldn't get him those tools quickly enough, don't you?"

She nodded, heaved a large sigh, and kept going. Most people would think that the story ended there, but most people were wrong. "6 months after Rogan died my parents and my sister flew out to Arizona to visit because I was too busy trying to run the facility without him to go home to see them. Their plane had engine trouble and crashed. No one on board survived." Brie closed her eyes on fresh tears. "Worst year of my life and all my fault."

Severus was so shocked he didn't know what to say. He squeezed Brie's hand and said, "It wasn't your fault. Neither was your fault."

"Is it your fault Lily is gone?" she asked pointedly.

"Thats different..." he began.

"No. It's very similar. Lily may not have been killed if you hadn't provided Lord Whoever with information about the prophecy. Rogan may still be alive if I had gotten to him quicker. Then my family would not have been worried about me being on my own and they wouldn't have been on that plane. How are any of those maybes really different? And, deep down, would it make a difference to either of us anyway?" She ran her thumb over his knuckles before letting go to rub her eyes. "How do we know that Lord Whoever wouldn't have found out about the prophecy some other way or that Rogan wouldn't have gotten bitten at some other point during that trip? Nothing was really our fault Severus, but that doesn't change how we feel and it sure doesn't bring any of them back."

Severus thought about this for a minute, marveling once more at her pinpoint accuracy. She had once again punched right through to the center and grabbed at the roots of the problem.

"I am not going to be able to sleep tonight." She groaned while briefly covering her face with her hands.

"That makes two of us." He didn't want her to be alone while she still looked so woebegone and truthfully he also needed the company, so he asked, "What should we do to pass the time?"

Brie looked at him in surprise. "You want me to stay?"

"I need the company and I think you do too." He shrugged and blushed slightly, for which he cursed himself.

Noticing his blush she said with a shaky smile, "No more stories, ok?"

"Absolutely agreed." Returning her smile he repeated, "How should we pass the time?"

"You could teach me how to make a potion." She said. It was not the first time she had broached the subject.

"Perhaps chess." he answered with a raised eyebrow.

"Will you ever teach me to make potions?" She questioned. "I am really interested to see if the potions I put together will...you know...be actual potions that work or just a bunch of gross stuff floating in a cauldron."

"I know, I am interested in finding out also, but not tonight." he sighed then asked, "Why do you want to find out so badly?"

"Severus, I'm basically a chemist. A PhD in toxicology requires lots and lots of time in the chem lab. To me potions is the chemistry of the wizarding world, I want to see if I can do it." Severus nodded. "Anyway, chess it is." Feeling slightly more cheerful, Brie sat on one side of a small table while Severus retrieved his wizard's chess set.

"I still need to find out about these PhD things. You've mentioned it once or twice before but I don't know what it means." Severus admitted as he set up the pieces.

"Think of it as on par with your Master in potions. I went through a lot of schooling and a lot of testing and now, according to the scholars, I know more then anyone without a PhD about toxins." She watched him carefully place the pieces on the board. It amused her that he was always so meticulous, placing each and every piece so they faced exactly the same way. "I have a Masters too you know. That is one step down from a PhD." she explained when he glanced up at her with a questioning expression. "It's in herpetology. I keep toying with the idea of going back and continuing till it's another PhD, but it would be really hard to do that at this point in time. Maybe someday though. It's just in my nature to want to learn things, to figure them out."

He remembered how many times, before they had become friends, he had come across her in the library studying one book or another, making notes in those Muggle notebooks she always brought with her, and chuckled. "And what have you found?"

She frowned and made a little growling noise in her throat. "That magic breaks the laws of science and drives me up a wall."

He chuckled again. "I supposed it would be human nature to want to see if there was anything magical you could achieve."

"You bet it is." She replied. "It's not even really about what I might or might not be able to achieve you know. It's about finding connections between magic and science and physics and all that. Finding the WHY and the HOW of it all. Putting it all into terms that don't make my head spin. You wizards break so many of the laws of nature that it makes me want to cry sometimes. Everything in the world that I 'know' is turned on it's head daily here. When I first came, I couldn't read enough about everything and eventually I came across information on potions and wondered just how magical you have to be if you are already using magical items and you don't need wands or spells."

"I can use the passwords and the paintings, I can use Dumbledore's Deluminator thingy." After the board was set up and he was seated opposite her, she told a pawn to move. "And the silly Muggle can use the wizard's chess set." she mused mostly to herself as she watched the piece move forward.

"What happened to the amazing Muggle?" He asked absently as he prodded a pawn forward.

"Feels like she was run over by an elephant herd." she studied the board. "More likely that the amazing part is just a rumor."

"Not from what I just heard and saw." He looked up. "I hope you won't ever believe it if someone tells you differently."

"Severus, if I really believed half of what most people, wizard or Muggle, say about me I would be in some padded cell somewhere, tucked away from the world for my own protection. Don't worry about me, I'll be my old sparkling, talented, beautiful, smart, engaging self soon enough. Will you be ok?"

"You forgot humble." he chuckled. "I suppose I will be back to myself soon enough as well."

"Oh, help us all." She said as she took a pawn.

Severus pointed his wand at her under the table and non verbally performed a tickling charm. As she giggled and squirmed and protested the unfairness of his wand usage he felt relief trickle through him. She understood, as completely as anyone could, his feelings regarding Lily, and had put herself through considerable emotional distress to make sure he understood why. Canceling the charm and taking her knight with his bishop he found himself glad that he had found a friend in Gabrielle Waters. "Do you remember the night you told me about falling out of that tree in Brazil?" he asked as they watched the chess pieces struggle.

"Sure, it wasn't long after you walked in on me baking cookies at one in the morning." She said while studying the board.

Momentarily sidetracked he chuckled and said, "I was thinking about that the other day."

Brie looked up, "So was I. Weird."

Severus felt a small shiver run up his spine. "That is odd. Anyway," He continued, ignoring the shiver, "I think the night you told me about falling was the night that we became tentative friends. I remember thinking that anyone who had re-learned how to walk only to go back and continue the activities that had caused the injuries in the first place was worth getting to know better."

"I'm sure I am honored." Rolling her eyes at his choice of phrase she continued to contemplate her next move. "If a potion went wrong on you and you were badly injured, would you quit potion making?" she inquired as she took another pawn.

"Of course not."

"I guess you and I are a lot alike then. We are both dedicated, or stubborn, or brave, or stupid. The trick is figuring out which it is." She spread her hands and shrugged. "Personally I'm not sure which category I fall into. On one hand, my work with anti venom saves lives and my documentaries educate people about wildlife. On the other hand both those jobs injure me almost constantly and have a very real potential for death."

Severus contemplated this. "I think, with you, the answer is all of the above. With an emphasis on dedicated and brave and a minimum of stupid. With some loony thrown in for good measure." He grinned on his own, a very very rare event. Usually any grinning he did was mirroring Brie's own infectious grin.

"Ahh, I forgot about crazy. Definitely a little crazy. Maybe a little more than a minimum of stupid also", she replied "and what about you? Everything you told me about your work with The Order points to brave and I know from experience we can throw in dedicated...and stubborn." She snickered.

"With much more that the minimum of stupid." he finished with a sigh, his grin gone.

"Maybe in the past, but I haven't seen it since I have known you." she said. "Now lets stop felling sorry for ourselves. Its not doing anyone any good. Move already!"

"Just because you don't see it doesn't mean its not there." He moved his queen in for the kill.

"Doesn't mean it actually is either." she countered, refusing to let him put himself down this time.


	8. HM8-Gifts for a Muggle

Gifts for a Muggle

After Severus beat her at chess for the third time Brie rose and said, "Well thats the last crushing I can take." as she stretched her arms over her head. She wasn't used to people beating her at things. It was another reason she liked spending time with Severus. "I'm going to go try and get some sleep so I'm not a zombie tomorrow during classes."

"Are you sure you will be alright?" Severus asked, still concerned about her being alone. It was one thing to simply tell of an upsetting event. It was another thing altogether to essentially live it over again in your mind, exactly how it had happened.

Knowing he was concerned made her smile. "I'll be fine. I lived through it when it really happened, one restless night will be a piece of cake. Thanks for letting me stay while I calmed down." She made her way to the door. "Don't worry about me Severus." she said as she left.

When she got back to her rooms she went over to her dresser and took out the framed picture of Rogan she kept in the top drawer. Smiling down at his handsome face she closed her eyes and brought a good memory into her mind, hoping to help herself sleep better.

They were next to a stream, laying on a blanket in the sun. She had her head on Rogan's chest and he was running his fingers through her hair. They got up and started to walk through a field toward the woods. As they went Rogan picked a daisy growing near the side of the trail and turned to her, tucking it behind her ear. She took both his hands in hers and pulled him toward her as she rose on her toes and tilted her head back to kiss him. The sunlight slanted over them, warm and golden bright.

The memory faded and Brie put Rogan's picture away. She knew she would dream of him tonight, hopefully the good memory would make it a good dream. At least she could hope. It was such a small short memory, but it was one of her favorites. Crawling into bed and closing her eyes, she waited for the inevitable.

_She was walking along a rocky dried creek bed in Sedona. Normally she would be out like this looking for coral snakes or rattlers or whatever else was needed at the time, but she sensed that wasn't why she was here now so she walked steadily forward, not bothering to look under rocks or to soften her foot steps. As she walked she gazed at the red rock formations all around her, as always, awed by their beauty._

_Rounding a curve in the creek bed she suddenly knew why she was here. Rogan was sitting on the bank of the creek. He was wearing an old, faded and heavily patched pair of jeans. Feeling a fist squeeze her heart, she made her way up the bank and sat down next to him. "Hey sweetheart. Still haven't gotten rid of those horrible pants?" she said as the fist squeezed her poor heart even harder._

_He smiled and put his hand on her knee. "Hey." They looked out into the setting sun. "I like these pants."_

"_So did the moths." She chuckled "I knew I'd see you tonight. I miss you." She put her hand on top of his and laced their fingers together. "Its hard without you."_

"_You are so strong Brea, stronger than this." He brushed his other hand across her cheek. "Don't remember me with sorrow, remember me with joy."_

"_Trust me, I do." She answered. I just didn't expect to fall apart over it again this many years later."_

_They sat in comfortable silence for a while before Brie asked, "So, getting any action in the afterlife?"_

_Rogan threw his head back and laughed. "Thats my Brea." He squeezed her hand one last time saying, "You'll be OK.", before fading away, leaving Brie alone, once again, to watch the sunset by herself._

She woke with a groan and rolled over, pulling the covers up around her ears. She hated her overactive brain for being able to put together a dream that had her feeling like she'd actually just had a real conversation with her dead husband. Still, it had put together worse. 'Not as bad as it could have been', she thought as she drifted off to sleep again, this time without dreams.

* * *

The next week or so passed by fairly uneventful. Classes, meals, grading essays, over seeing detentions, somehow she always seemed to get roped into supervising the types of detentions where the students were required to clean Mugglestyle, all passed by in a blur of routine that made Brie a little antsy.

One morning she was pleased to see Icarus fly in with the other post owls. He landed on the table with an unusually loud thud. "What's up buddy?." she said as she untied the roll of papers that was attached to his leg, surprised at the weight. "Wow, poor guy. Here." she picked up a piece of toast and offered it to him. Icarus grabbed it and flew off to the Owlery for some much needed rest.

"What the heck did Evan send that is so heavy?" She wondered out loud as she unrolled the papers, finding two small packages. "There's the problem." she said to Dumbledore as she pointed to the packages and smoothed out the letter.

**-Brie**

**Here ist half of the crap you wanted plus a few useful tid-bits and an early birthday present. I sent along the filming schedule and trail maps and all that other stuff for the next film. Open the heavy package to find out where you are headed this year. Hint: It's not Sri Lanka.**

**The other package is your birthday present, I hope I didn't break the owl by sending both packages with him. When he is rested, send him back and I'll get the rest of the stuff you wanted out to you.**

**Everything is fine here. No problems at all. My ribs are all healed. See you soon. Bring me back something fun. NO more weird wizard balloon bubble gum.**

**-Evan**

"He's got handwriting like a serial killer." She muttered to herself as she examined the packages. "Well now, here's a dilemma." Brie said, "do I open the early birthday present first or do I open the other one to find out where my next exciting adventure is going to be?" She tapped a finger to her chin. "It worries me a little that he didn't just tell me in the letter...that can't be good."

Answers came simultaneously from each side of her. "Open the present." Dumbledore said as he picked up the brightly wrapped package. "Don't you want to know what it is?"

"Open this one." Seveus put in, pointing to the other package. "Find out now, then if you don't like it you can make yourself feel better by opening the present."

"Oh good idea. Severus wins", she said as she tore the paper off the larger package revealing one of her own well worn field guides. She groaned as she read the title. "Malaysia. Why did it have to be Malaysia? She pushed the book to the side and laid her head on her hands and groaned again. Dumbledore patted her on the back while looking a little concerned.

Slightly taken aback by her reaction Severus picked up the field guide and flipped through it asking, "Whats wrong with Malaysia?"

Brie raised her head off her hands. "Nothing really. Malaysia's great, its just a pain to film there because it is split in two by the South China Sea. Then you have the annual southwest monsoon season which runs from April to October and the northeast monsoon season which is from October to February." She started to tick off other points on her fingers, "There are about 10 different species of semi arboreal pit vipers, so more tree climbing is in my future. Then there are several species of Kraits, whose venom is highly neurotoxic but they are easily mistaken for harmless wolf snakes so you've got to be careful. Oh, and there are coral snakes, also highly neurotoxic but very rare, so of course we will be looking for those."

She paused for breath, "But the best, the absolute kicker, are the three species of cobra. Not only do they have the monocled cobra, a very nasty feisty little cobra, but they also have a type of spitting cobra. Those little buggers don't even have to bite, they can literally spit venom into your eyes and mouth from 5 or 6 feet away. Then they have the king cobra. The worlds largest venomous snake, 19 feet long and 20lbs. A full grown specimen can stand up almost six feet. In case you haven't noticed thats just a wee bit taller than me, and they have a strike range of over a third of their body length. Add to that the half inch fangs that inject venom like a hypodermic needle and the venom itself, which is potent enough to kill a full grown Asian elephant in less than 3 hours and you've got yourself a nasty little package.

Both Severus and Dumbledore were staring at her now wearing identical looks of concern so Brie added hastily, "But none of that will be a problem for highly trained individuals such as myself or my staff and crew." This didn't seem to help so she continued, "Plus thats only a small portion of the fauna there. They have tons of different non venomous snake species and harmless lizards and frogs, a few tortoises and all sorts of neat bugs. Not to mention mammals like orangutans, monkeys, macaques, flying squirrels, bears, otters, mongoose..." She trailed off as they both continued to stare at her. "Stop looking at me like that! I feel like some sort of side show exhibit."

Dumbledore looked toward Severus and said with a smile, "You know Severus, I bet we would be rolling in Galleons if we set up an exhibit. Think of it, 'Hogwarts' Amazing Death Defying Muggle!', we could toss deadly snakes in the enclosure and have demonstrations every few hours."

"You get to try to cage her." Severus replied, "I have a feeling you will have a very hard time, even if you use magic."

Amused Brie broke in, "I have a feeling Albus could toss me across the room with the smallest flick of his wand, thats why I try not to get him super angry, and I don't defy death, I sort of side step it."

"Why don't you try to not make me angry?" Severus asked

"Because you are so funny when you're angry." she answered trying hard to keep her face impassive as she turned to Dumbledore, who also looked like he was trying to resist the urge to smile. "So, 'Hogwarts' Amazing Muggle, Who Jumps Out of Death's Way', sounds much less impressive, it probably shouldn't even have that amazing in there." She tossed a grin back at Severus, "I guess you will have to give up the dream Albus. Sorry."

"I suppose you should open this then." He replied, handing her the second package.

"That's right, I have a present!" She took the package and started to unwrap it, revealing a small box. "It was a good idea to open this one second. Oh, sweet!" she exclaimed as she lifted the lid and pulled out a large swiss army knife. "He remembers that I lost mine when we were filming in Vietnam last summer." She flipped it open and examined the blades and other tools that folded out. "I dropped the damn thing in a rice paddy and couldn't find it again. Oh wow, this is a really good one."

Both Severus and Dumbledore looked on with interest as she flipped the tools open and closed, never having seen anything like Brie's gift before. "I was under the impression that women enjoyed getting gifts like jewelry." Severus commented to no one in particular.

"Not this woman." she happily replied while examining the saw blade she had just unfolded. "Although I never could resist a pretty necklace." She added with a chuckle.

Later on that same day, Brie went up to the Owlery to check on Icarus. "Hey buddy," she said, locating him perched in the rafters. "You doing ok?"

Icarus flew down and perched on the windowsill nearest to where she was standing. She went over and ruffled his feathers as she fed him a few of the owl treats she had picked up while supervising the last Hogsmead outing with Minerva. "Whenever you are ready you can head back again. Evan has some more stuff for you." Icarus nipped at her finger. "Nothing heavy this time, I promise." She laughed. "No rush, I have plenty to keep me busy for now." Satisfied that the owl was alright she turned and started down the stairs.

* * *

Later that week, while she was in his office, Dumbledore presented Brie with a brightly wrapped package. Snakes in each of the four House color combinations slithered all over the paper wrapping. "I thought the idea of an early birthday present seemed like fun." he said as he handed it over to her.

Charmed by the thought and delighted at the wrapping paper, she hugged him. "Albus you didn't have to get me anything." She examined the paper more closely watching the snakes make loops and figure eights. "I don't want to unwrap it. Its too pretty."

"Oh just tear it open." Severus said from his seat across the room.

Brie hadn't noticed him when she had first entered, but smiled when she heard his slightly sarcastic comment. "Hey, this is like a mini party with two of my favorite wizards. How fun! My birthday isn't for another two days you know."

"Yes but celebrating early gives us the element of surprise." Dumbeldore said as he flicked his wand toward a bookcase. It slid to the side reveling a hidden room full of people, all of whom spilled out as soon as the secret door moved aside. Brie jumped and dropped Albus' present in surprise.

"Oh thank goodness." Minerva exclaimed as she handed a stunned Brie a present wrapped in Gryffindor colors. "I don't know how we all fit in there along with Hagrid." She turned and looked down at Professor Flitwick, who seemed a bit flattened. "Are you alright Filius?" she asked as she reached into her pocket and drew out a handful of marbles. She waved her wand, causing the marbles to transfigure into balloons which rose to float near the ceiling.

"Yes, I'm fine." Flitwick squeaked as he straightened his pointed wizard's hat and handed Brie another present, this one thin and flat, wrapped in Ravenclaw blue. "Happy Birthday!" He also waved his wand and confetti started to fall from the ceiling, vanishing as it floated down.

Pamona came next with a present wrapped in canary yellow, for Huffelpuff, followed by Poppy who carried a small striped package with a bow attached which shimmered and changed colors. Both presents were pushed into Brie's already full arms and both wands were waved producing champagne flutes and several self pouring bottles of champagne, both of which proceeded to distribute themselves without assistance.

Hagrid was the last to exit the secret room. He scooped the tottering pile of presents out of Brie's arms with one large hand and placed them on a small table. "Happy birthday to yeh Brie! I got summat fer yeh too but it can't be wrapped, so I'll jus' give it to yeh when yeh open the rest." Brie was slightly alarmed that whatever it was Hagrid had gotten her couldn't be wrapped, considering some of the creatures he considered cute and harmless, but she was still too surprised to worry about it much.

"I can't believe you guys did all this for me." She said softly as she looked around at the balloons and confetti and champagne bottles that were pouring themselves. "Thank you so much." She and the staff had come a long way since the awkward greetings and idle chit chat of her first year and she was truly touched.

Dumbledore patted her on the back before walking around his desk and taking the disillusionment charm off a small frosted cake. "We would have done this in past years but you've never mentioned when your birthday was before." he said. "We assumed it was sometime during the summer."

"I still didn't mention it this year." she chuckled. "Evan gave it away."

"It doesn't matter because we know now!" sang out Pamona as she sipped champagne. "Open your presents! I'm dying to see what everyone got you. No one here has really ever had to think of what to get a Muggle before. It was quite a challenge, let me tell you! Things that are normal to us fascinate you to no end. We have been discussing it for days."

"Ahh so thats why conversations have been ending abruptly everywhere I go lately." Brie laughed as she sat down near the pile of presents, noticing that there was now one wrapped in Slytherin green. "I thought I was getting fired." This comment was met with blank looks. "Sacked." She explained and everyone laughed." Should I open yours first then, Pamona?" she asked reaching for the bright yellow package.

"Take care to keep it upright." Pamona said as Brie tore the wrapping away from a small plant that looked sort of like an octopus that had been buried in a pot. It was a mass of springy tentacle like tendrils. "It's a flitterbloom plant." she explained as Brie examined it. "It's tendrils wave if you put your hand near it." Brie did so, causing the tendrils to sway and move in the direction of her hand. It stopped as she took her hand away. Pamona continued, "It looks just like Devil's Snare but it is completely non threatening."

"I love plants, thank you so much!" Brie said, thinking that she would have to leave it at the school during the summer. Maybe Lully would take care of it for her.

Unable to wait any longer, Hagrid thrust his hand into one of the inside pockets of his long black coat and withdrew a closed fist. He held his fist out to Brie and opened it revealing a small white salamander sitting on his palm. "It's a fire salamander." He said excitedly. "They live right in fires, but they can las' outside of one for abou' six hours if yeh feed 'em pepper." The little salamander sneezed as Hagrid continued "I thought yeh'd like it, bein' interested in snakes an' lizards an' all."

"Wow, Hagrid, he's great! But he has to live in fire?" she questioned, looking slightly concerned. "Thats going to be a little tough." she began, but Minerva cut in, holding out the scarlet wrapped gift.

"Wait, open this one." she said, handing it to Brie who tore off the paper revealing a small glass jar full of blue flames. "They are bluebell flames," Minerva explained. "it is waterproof and portable. I thought it would be useful on your crazy Muggle outdoor trips. You can pour it out of the jar onto a pile of logs to start a fire, then you can scoop some back into the jar to take with you again." She waved her wand, producing another small jar. "Pour some of the flames in this jar and you can keep the salamander in it."

Brie did precisely that, then held the second jar toward Hagrid who tipped the salamander into it. "Thank you both. This fire will make my 'crazy' outdoor trips much easier, Minerva. I can use it when no one is looking." she said and looked at the salamander scampering through the flames. "I think I'll call him Blaze." Hagrid grinned as she put down the jars and picked up Flitwick's present, which turned out to be a lavender quill.

"It has a Quick Quotes charm on it." Flitwick explained, "Just balance it on a piece of parchment and you can dictate to it. Most wizards and witches can just think about what they want to write and the quill will scratch it out, but I'm pretty sure you will have to talk to it."

"Wow, this will come in handy when I want to take notes but have a handful of snake keeping me busy, thank you Filius." Brie twirled the quill between her fingers as she reached out and picked up Dumbledore's present saying, "I have been dying to find out what is in this one since I saw the paper." After carefully removing the paper and lifting the top off the box underneath, Brie pulled out a backpack with three bright cartoon like flowers on the front. She giggled when she saw it, saying "This is cute Albus."

"Wait, I put a special charm on the flowers, watch." He placed his finger on one, causing it to spin merrily like a pin wheel, right there on the fabric.

"Cool!" Brie exclaimed, "Will it work for me?" she asked, already reaching toward a second flower which started to spin as soon she touched it. "Awesome!"

"I also put an undetectable extension charm on it so it is much bigger inside than it seems from the outside, and you can fit much more in it than you normally could, it won't get too heavy either."

"Oh no way," She said, as she unzipped it and reached in. Her arm disappeared right up to the shoulder. "Whoa." she said looking very impressed as she pulled her arm back out and peered inside.

Dumbledore continued, "And, finally only the owner can use the magic, so you can put anything inside without fear of someone else being able to open it."

Brie looked at him with an open mouth. "You can really do that? Jeeze I learn something new here everyday. I'm not sure my brain can handle much more."She looked at the backpack again saying, "This is my new hiking pack, absolutely."

"Well," said Poppy as Brie moved on to the gift she had brought, unwrapping two small clear jars. One filled with a pinkish paste and the other filled with a yellowish goo. "In keeping with the apparent theme of items you can use while doing your crazy Muggle things, those are bruise-healing paste and Murtlap essence. The paste obviously vanishes bruises and the Murtlap essence heals cuts and abrasions. You always return in the fall with so many scratches and scrapes and bruises, theres no need really. I remembered the huge bruise on your elbow at the beginning of this year and thought these might be useful. How did you get that awful thing anyway?"

"Slipped on some slimy rocks trying to wade across a river, broke my fall with my elbow." Brie answered as she examined the jars. "This is great Poppy, I'll probably use them both up this summer." She placed them carefully inside her new backpack and moved on to the last present. "I've stopped trying to guess what is inside all these since I haven't been remotely close." she joked as she unwrapped a wooden box with dragons carved into the top and sides and examined it with delight. "This is really pretty Severus." she said as she turned toward him with a smile.

"Open it." He replied. "I think you will find it fits in with the accidental theme."

Brie lifted the lid revealing several vials of potions in various colors, each neatly labeled in Severus's handwriting. There were four vials each of red blood replenishing potion and turquoise invigoration draught, three murky purple vials labeled wound-cleaning potion, and one tiny unlabeled vial filled with a bright molten gold liquid.

"What is this one called?" she asked holding up the tiny golden vial, noticing that everyone's attention snapped to her hand in a kind of silent wonder.

"Felix Felicis." Severus answered. "Liquid luck. I thought it might be useful in an emergency. That is enough for twelve hours of successful endeavors."

Looking stunned and at a loss for words, Brie placed all the vials back in the carved box and slid the box into her new backpack. "I can't believe you brewed all this for me. Thank you." She wanted to hug him but knew he wouldn't be happy about it because there we so many other people around so she didn't.

"Actually the blood replenishing and wound cleaning potions and invigoration draught, were made by my seventh year NEWT students." he confessed. "They are very well brewed. I did brew the Felix Felicis."

"Either way this is great. All these gifts are amazing, this is the best birthday I have had in a long time. Thank you all so much for thinking of me." One of the champagne bottles zoomed over pouring as it went and the glass hovered in front of her. "OK, I really like this spell!" She laughed as she plucked the glass out of the air and took a sip.

As everyone chatted and had cake and champagne, Brie wandered around the room thanking everyone again. They were all keen to tell her more about the gifts they had brought and why they had chosen them for her. Thoroughly delighted, she listened with avid interest and asked a few questions like how to take care of the flitterbloom plant and what to feed Blaze, the fire salamander, and how to put out the bluebell flames since they were waterproof.

People started to leave one by one and finally only Dumbeldore, Severus, and Brie were left. Dumbeldore waved his wand and the office returned to normal. Brie thanked him one last time for his thoughtfulness as she gathered her presents and left with Severus.

"That was so much fun!" she giggled as they carried the presents back to her rooms. "I was totally surprised. Bitis gabonica" she said to the troll in the painting who was wearing a silly pointed birthday hat and holding a bunch of balloons. "You're going to stay like that till after my birthday aren't you?" she asked the troll, who grinned a crooked yellow grin and nodded. Brie sighed.

The door opened and they entered the drawing room, placing the presents on a side table. Brie instantly unzipped the backpack and pulled out the carved box filled with potions from Severus and the jars of bruise cream and Murtlap essence from Poppy. "Severus, thanks again for the potions. You have no idea how handy they will be." She flipped the lid back and shifted the vials around to make room for the jars that Poppy had given her then closed the lid again. "There, now I have my own magical first aid kit." She said happily.

Severus watched her examine her gifts as he reached into his pocket and closed his hand around something small and hard. "I have one last thing for you," he began as he pulled his hand out again. "I didn't think to add this until after I had wrapped the rest of it." He opened his hand to reveal a small stone lying on his palm. "This is a beazor. It is a powerful protector against most poisons."

Brie took the little stone and examined it. "What about snake bites?"

"Even snake poison." he replied, pleased she had picked up his point so quickly.

"Venom." she corrected automatically. "How do I use it?"

"All you have to do is swallow it." He explained. "It will counteract the poison of any snake."

"Venom." She corrected again. That's it?" she asked skeptically, slipping the stone into her pocket. "No splinting and bandaging, no hospital, no anti-venom?"

"That's it. It's very simple." He hunched his shoulders and added gruffly. "After your memory the other night... and then earlier this week, when you were talking about the summer and the cobras ...I thought... I thought it would be good for you to have one. Just in case."

Smiling and giving him a one armed hug, she joked. "Aww Severus, are you starting to worry about me? You don't have to you know, I go into all my crazy Muggle adventures very well prepared." She gestured to the drawing room where every surface was covered by maps, diagrams, stacks of notes, and open books. "I'm very thorough and thanks to all my great gifts this trip will be even better."

"I would say so." He stepped over to the desk and glanced down at a large map. There was a fat red line drawn on it following along a river. Every so often it would wander off into a patch of green but then it always meandered back to the thin blue line that was the water. Switching his attention to one of the stacks of notes, he picked up and read the top sheet.

**Malayan Pit Viper - body covered with triangular brown markings arranged neatly across the back - regarded as causing the most fatalities in Peninsular Malaysia - Highly aggressive - Hemotoxic venom, used in anticoagulant studies**

**Leaf-Nose Viper- uncommon species - semi-arboreal and thick-bodied. Males vivid green/females greyish brown to yellowish green – Highly aggressive – Hemotoxic venom**

**Blue Krait - easily mistaken for wolf snakes - broad white and black bands, squarish head and muzzled snout – Jekyll/Hyde complex day/night - Nerurotoxic venom**

**Banded Krait - easily mistaken for wolf snakes - chevron-like pattern on head – Jekyll/Hyde complex day/night - Nerurotoxic venom**

"Jekyll and Hyde complex?" He asked as he stopped reading and replaced the list on the top of the stack.

"Tame during the day, super aggressive at night." Brie answered as she placed her new plant on the window sill and started to search for a place to put the jar holding the fire salamander, finally setting it down on the mantel. "I'm not going to be able to bring either of these back with me." She said wistfully, looking in at the tiny salamander. "I'll have to see if Lully will take care of them during the summer."

She shifted several maps and books off the sofa and invited him to sit down. After he had joined her she reached around and snagged yet another list off the table behind him. Glancing at it she said, "This summer is actually going to be pretty decent. Evan managed to keep everything in a pretty localized area. We are releasing and collecting species in Indonesia, Thailand, and Brunei and filming while releasing and collecting in Malaysia. Should take about a month. I might actually spend more than two weeks at home this year." She smiled and tossed the list onto another stack of papers. "He did a great job planning everything, I should bring him back something cool. Do you think I could find anything like the backpack Albus gave me in Hogsmead?"

He considered and answered, "Perhaps some type of much smaller pouch, but I doubt you would find anything larger."

"Oh. Is that why he put all the spells and charms on it himself?" she asked with interest as she picked up the backpack and sent all three flowers spinning.

"No." He replied, watching her delight at the magic. "He mentioned that he found it while passing by some Muggle shop and liked the flowers." He smirked "They reminded him of you apparently. He cast the spells for the flowers and charmed it so only you can open it. I suggested the undetectable extension charm. I thought it might prove useful."

"Thats the best part!" She exclaimed as she stilled the flowers and unzipped the top to peer inside. "I think I could fit in there." Giggling she plunged her upper body inside and disappeared up to the waist "Echo echo echo." She said from inside the bag and Severus smirked. 'Only Brie.' he thought to himself.

"Could you come with me to Hogsmead sometime before the end of the term? I want to find something to give Evan that looks non magical so he doesn't have to hide it." She pulled herselfback out of the bag again. "Last year I brought him back some of that Drooble's gum but I forgot to mention that the bubbles stick around for a few days. He was pretty pissed. This year I'm going to bring him back some of those jelly beans that taste like everything." She grinned wickedly. "That ought to be fun to watch. I want to bring him something else this year too. Something he can keep."

He thought for a minute before replying, "I suppose I could come with you but I don't know how much help I will be having never met him."

"I don't really need help finding a gift, it's more that I'd like someone with me to tell me what different things are. I hate having to ask about everything, it makes me feel like I have 'MUGGLE' written here." She made a slashing motion with her thumb across her forehead. "I can ask Minerva if you don't want to go."

"I need some things from the apothecary and Dervish and Bangs." He said with a shrug. "We could go this weekend."

"Excellent." She grinned. "You know, you would like Evan." Her face lit up as she had a seemingly brilliant idea. "Severus, you should come visit me over the summer, after we finish filming! We'll be back way earlier than usual so for once we won't have to work non stop at Venom Lab." Brie clasped her hands together in delight. "I can show you the facility and all the animals, and you can meet Evan and some of my staff. I'll show you how to extract venom if you want. There are always a ton of snakes that need milking." She barreled on, "It will be fun! You should come. Do you want to?"

Severus' mind reeled at the suggestion. His first instinct was to refuse, but as he listened to her excited ramblings, he started to reconsider. He could at least think about it for awhile. "Perhaps." He started slowly, unsure of what to say next.

"Oh yeah, you don't have to decide now." she said, reading his distressed expression correctly. "Evan should be sending me the summer work schedules soon. I could schedule it so that its just him and me there if you want. At least two people have to be on together, for safety." She picked up a book and opened it at random. "Think about it for awhile, it could be fun." she said in what she hoped sounded like a casual tone, "I'd love to show you my world."

The more she thought about it the more she liked the idea. Never mind the fact that she would love to show him what she had lived and breathed for countless years before she had essentially left it to come to Hogwarts. She thought it would be a really good idea for him to have some sort of distraction this summer because she had a feeling that he was going to be thinking about Harry Potter more and more as the new school year got closer and closer.


	9. HM9-End of Term

**AN: So, I kind of forgot to post an earlier chapter of this story. Opps. :D Anyway, if you've been following this story you might want to backtrack to chapter 3, First Impressions and give that a read.  
**

**End of Term**

As the end of term grew closer Severus found that his thoughts kept turning toward Brie's invitation to come visit over the summer. She hadn't mentioned it again directly.

They had gone to Hogsmead together and he had helped find a gift for her friend. She has been correct in assuming she wouldn't need Severus to actually help her decide what gift would be good, she really had just needed him there to tell her what things were. As they had searched through the shops she told him various stories about Evan and their adventures and close calls. She also spoke of Arizona and her home and work. He had a feeling she was trying to get him accustomed to hearing and thinking about her 'other life', as he had gotten into the habit of referring to it in his head.

She had always told stories about her wild adventures but had never before gone into this much detail about the who and where and why of them. He realized that over the past two school years he hadn't asked much about her Muggle life. He'd been slowly overcoming his extreme dislike of Muggles... or at least one Muggle, but he still disliked Muggle culture enough to not even really think to ask her much about what she did and how she lived. Pretty much all the information he'd received over the course of their budding friendship had been volunteered by Brie in idle conversation. He could look back on the past two years and see the string of personal stories she'd told him, the telling sparked by one event or another in the present.

When Icarus had returned with the information about work and holiday schedules, she had casually mentioned that she would probably be done filming in late July and would therefore be back home for the entire month of August. She had just as casually informed him that for the first two weeks in August only she and Evan would be working because she had given all her employee's two weeks paid holiday. Well, Brie had said vacation...but he didn't like how that sounded. Americans and their funny words.

Also, apparently Dumbledore knew a safe Apparation point within her facility so that he could come and collect her at the beginning of the year and bring her back at the end of it. All fascinating little tid bits of information dropped randomly into daily conversation. He didn't have the heart to smirk at what he was fairly certain were her attempts at sneakiness.

The school year ended with the usual flurry of study and exams and the end of year feast. After the students boarded the train for King's Cross, the professors departed by using the floo network or Apparating once they were off Hogwarts grounds, a few flew off on their broomsticks. Severus himself chose to Apparate. But first, he'd go say goodbye to Brie.

"Have a good summer Severus." Brie said as she packed. Dumbledore would be taking her home later that night. "Check this out. I fit everything in my birthday backpack!" She reached in and pulled her guitar case partway out, "I even got the guitar in there! How great is that?" she exclaimed as she shoved the case back in and tossed one last stack of maps and notes in after it before taking a last look around. "Well that's it."

He ran a hand over his hair nervously, not sure how to bring up the subject of a summer visit. 'She hasn't directly mentioned it again...maybe she changed her mind. All that other stuff could have been idle conversation.', a little voice in his head nagged before he told it to shut its gob. "Be careful...you know...doing everything you do."

She laughed and swatted at his arm. "There are large chunks of time during the summer in which I don't risk my life."

"Yes, I know." He replied. "But they are in between large chunks of time where you do." He swallowed hard, it was now or not at all. "Perhaps there would be less time to endanger your life if you were to have a visitor for a few days."

"What makes you think that I wouldn't just risk that life as well?" she teased, glad he was bringing up a summer visit. She'd been, veryuncharacteristically, using a great amount of self restraint in bringing up the subject and had been endeavoring to slip the necessary details into everyday conversation for weeks now. Every time she had, Severus had acknowledged that information with a nod and a stoic expression and since that was pretty much his standard acknowledgment of any information from Shepard pie for lunch to blowing off your eyebrowsin a potions accident, she had no idea how he felt on the subject. She was ready to explode.

"Everything you've told me so far about your work." he replied. "I was considering your suggestion and thought perhaps it would be...interesting." He trailed off unsure of what to say next.

"Oh well, if its going to be interesting, then by all means you simply must come." She said in her best proper British accent before laughing at the look on Severus' face and ruining the effect. "You're such a geek sometimes Severus. So is that your way of saying you'd like to come visit me this summer?"

"If the invitation still stands, then yes I think so." He felt himself blush and wondered if there would ever be a time when his complexion wouldn't betray him. 'Why is it,' he wondered to himself, 'that I was able to hide important information from the Dark Lord but I almost constantly blush like a first year girl when Brie and I talk?'

Chuckling to herself because she noticed him blush, she said "Well, I'll tell you what, think about it for a while longer. Send an owl when you make your decision and you can pop in whenever you feel like it during the couple of weeks that Evan and I are alone running the place. How does that sound?"

"Simple enough. You mentioned Dumbledore knows a safe Apparation point within your facility?"

"Yep. Usually you would have to Apparate in sometime after 8 to be sure the staff is gone for the night but since it will just be me and Evan, you can show up any ole' time y'all want." She answered adding a southern accent to the last bit. "Just make sure that you let me know roughly when you plan to pop in so that I am around that day."

"Do you keep saying 'pop in' because you are trying for a joke? He asked

"Maybe." She replied with a smile. She liked giving him a hard time sometimes and this was her last chance for awhile. "Do you think its funny?"

"I suppose it could be viewed as funny." He said grudgingly.

"Then I suppose it could be viewed as a joke." Severus huffed out an exasperated breath and Brie chuckled some more, then asked, "So, any special plans this summer?"

He grimaced and said snidely. "To enjoy the peace and quiet away from this school full of insufferable little dunderheads."

She raised her eyebrows. "Well, glad to see that you love your job." There was a pause while she zipped up her backpack and as she did Severus noticed something missing from her usual appearance. "Well, at least let me know if you get tired of the peace and quiet. I can assure you that in my line of work there is very little of either commodity."

"I'm sure peace and quite will eventually turn to boredom." He answered absently then pointed to her left hand where, on the ring finger, there was a circle of skin slightly paler than the rest. "You are missing your rings."

"What?" she asked as she absently looked at her left hand. "Oh, right." she said as she realized what he was talking about, and pulled a long gold chain from the neck of her shirt. Two small rings and one larger one sparkled as they dangled from the end.

The larger one must be Rogan's. Severus hadn't known that she wore Rogan's ring around her neck. He briefly wondered why he had never thought about what was on the end of the chain she always wore, but kept tucked into her shirt.

"After all of our story telling last month..." she trailed off, blushing. "Well I though it was time to wear them someplace else." Shrugging she continued to look down at the little pale ring of skin on her left hand. "Moving on is hard." She muttered mostly to herself.

He didn't know what to say and after an awkward silence Brie cleared her throat and asked, "Are you Apparating home?"

"Yes." he replied grateful for the change of subject. "Dumbledore is taking you home by Side-Along Apparation isn't he?"

She shuddered. "He always uses that Side Along deal and I hate it. It makes me feel like I'm being smashed through a keyhole."

"You get used to it." He said with a smirk

"Not if you only do it a few times a year." She countered mirroring his smirk.

"I suppose not." He relented, never having thought of that point before. "I'm going to go talk to Albus about that Apperation point. Be careful this summer."

"Yes MOM!" She grumbled then grabbed his hand. "And you, don't dwell on next year all summer. OK?"

"Yes mom." He parroted as his lips quirked upward and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder to give her a quick sideways squeeze before leaving her rooms and heading toward Dumbeldore's office. She giggled as he left. His 'hugs' were always so brief and almost matter of fact. It amused her.

As he strode toward the Headmaster's office, Severus tried to squash the worry he was feeling about Brie's chosen summer activities. She had been working with dangerous animals long before they had met and she was still alive so she must know what she was doing, but he still couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive after hearing her reel off all of Malaysia's most dangerous creatures like she was reading a mildly interesting newspaper article. "Acid pops." he said to the gargoyle guarding the entrance to the Headmaster's office. The gargoyle jumped out of the way, revealing the familiar moving spiral staircase which he stepped onto and rode to the top.

"Ah, Severus," Dumbledore said as he opened the office door and invited him inside. "What brings you for a last minute visit?" He strolled around to the other side of his desk and, with his tongue in his cheek, offered the bowl of lemon drops. Severus, as always, declined.

"I needed to ask you about the Apparation point in Professor Waters' facility." He said, hoping the old wizard wouldn't ask many follow up questions. Dumbledore looked up at him upon hearing the question and Severus cursed inwardly because he had that damn twinkle in his eye.

"Planning an educational summer visit to our Professor Waters?" Dumbledore asked while trying not to smile. "She was kind enough to grant me a tour of her facility at the end of her first year at Hogwarts. I found myself thoroughly impressed.

Severus hunched his shoulders and said, in what he hoped was an indifferent tone, "I was considering it. She mentioned something earlier in the year. I thought it might be interesting." He cleared his throat. "Of course she will be away in July so there is still a month to consider a visit."

"You should go." Dumbledore said immediately. "I've been watching you this year Severus. I know what is bothering you and I think a distraction would be a good thing." He paused before adding, "I know next year will be hard for you and I'm sorry for it."

Severus felt his temper rise. "I don't need your sympathy Albus. I will be fine. The Apparation point please?"

Dumbledore sighed and gave in. "Alright then. Should I get the Pensivie?"

Severus shrugged and held up his wand. "This would be faster." He said while raising a challenging eyebrow.

"Oh alright." Dumbledore relented as he took a seat and brought the image of the little room within Brie's facility to the front of his mind. Only she had the key to that room and he had always unlocked it with the Ahlohomora Charm when he went to collect her at the beginning of each year. "Make it quick."

Severus pointed his wand at Dumbeldore and looked into his eyes. "Legilimens." he said and seconds later his mind was full of Dumbledore's memory of the little room in Brie's facility and nothing else. Severus knew from the lack of bits of other memories in Dumbledore's mind that he was using Occlumency and hiding everything but the information in question. With a scowl he pulled out of Dumbeldore's mind, "Thank you Albus." He said as he rose to leave. "I hope you have a good summer."

"And you as well Severus." Dumbledore replied with a look of concern on his face which Severus chose to ignore as he left the office and strode through the castle toward the entrance hall. Now that he knew the physical location and had a picture of the Apparation point in his mind he would be able to visit Brie at anytime.

Scowling as he remembered Dumbledore's comment about a distraction being good for him, he left through the main entrance and made his way toward the gates that marked the edge of Hogwarts grounds. 'Meddling old codger always has his nose in someone's business.' he thought to himself as he contemplated the Occlumency shield that he'd encountered in Dumbledore's mind. 'Don't like anyone in your business though, do you Gramps?' He exited through the main gatesand turned on the spot into the temporary crushing darkness, reappearing almost instantly in the drawing room of the old house at Spinner's End.

The bright afternoon sun was diffused by the drawn curtains giving the windows an odd blazing look in the stale dusty semi gloom. He drew his wand and waved it in the direction of the sunlight, causing the curtains to pull back and the windows to open. Another wave of his wand and all the collected dust in the room vanished. Reasonably pleased with his house keeping he walked into the kitchen and gave it the same wand treatment as the drawing room. Grabbing his bags, he headed upstairs to his room to unpack.

As he shifted aside a stack of undershirts to make room for socks he unearthed the sole picture of Lily he possessed. It was a Muggle photograph of himself and Lily the summer when they were 10, she had given it to him inside a birthday card when he had turned 15. In the picture both he and Lily were gripping ice cream cones and grinning into the camera with their arms around each others shoulders. Staring at the picture clutched in his hand he sighed and dropped down to sit on the bed. He remembered the day this was taken, but even stronger was the memory of the day Lily had given it to him.

_They met in secret in the Astronomy tower as they had every year on each of their birthdays. He had arrived first and stood looking at the stars with his hands in the pockets of his robes, __watching his breath make little white puffs in the air__. "Happy Birthday Sev." Lily said as she came up behind him and held out a small package and a card._

_Taking the offered package, he watched as the moonlight fell across her face and cast a silvery glow on her red hair. "Thank you." he replied and stood holding the beribboned present as he looked at her._

"_Well," Lily laughed, __her breath coming out in a white cloud that drifted away like a ghost in the breeze.__ "__A__ren't you going to open it?"_

_He had jumped in surprise and embarrassment as he said, "Oh..yes." and started to pull one end of the curly ribbon. _

"_Wait." Lily stopped him. "You open the card first."_

"_Of course." He replied and switched his attention to the card. As he opened it several small pale birds had flown out and vanished into thin air as they darted away._

_Lily giggled as the birds vanished. "I worked on that charm for a week. Did you like it?"_

"_It was fantastic." He said with a smile while examining the picture that had been inside the card._

"_I found that in my room over Christmas break and though you might like to have it." __S__he shrugged as she looked at the picture over his shoulder. "Things were much more simple then, weren't they Sev?"_

_He chose to ignore the veiled reference to their current situation. Lily was always trying to warn him against the people in his House. "May I open the gift now?" he asked in a tone that he hoped didn't betray his aggravation at her former comment._

"_Of course." Lily answered, concerned because there was a slightly waspish quality to his tone._

_He pulled away the wrapping paper and lifted the lid off the box underneath revealing a silver knife with a handle that was caved with moons and stars. Smiling as he lifted it out of the box to examine the handle more closely he said, "This is wonderful. Thank you Lily."_

_She let out the breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding and smiled. "It seemed like a good knife for potion work. You can think of me whenever you use it."_

"_I will." He said as he looked toward her again. The cloud that had slipped over the moon while he had been examining the knife moved away as he turned. Once again moonlight washed over Lily's face and hair making it seem like she was glowing. Severus's mouth had gone dry and he had nearly, very nearly, confessed everything that was in his heart._

"_I'm glad we are still friends Sev." Lily said with a smile. "I was worried when we were sorted into separate houses during first year."_

_The words died in his throat at the sound of 'friends'. He swallowed painfully before replying uncomfortably, "Thank you again for the wonderful gift. I really will think of you whenever I use it."_

He had too. Although since Lily's death the silver knife could most often be found in his personal supply cupboard, still in the box he had received it in. He didn't use it often because, true to his word, he would always think of Lily when he did and the memories were often bittersweet. It was the last birthday present that Lily had ever given him. By the end of that year he had called her a Mudblood and she had given up and walked away from him.

Feeling a melancholy mood rolling in on him like a fog he gave up on manually unpacking and waved his wand once again, causing all his possessions to fly into their proper places. 'This is what I get for doing things like a Muggle.' He thought to himself as he turned and wandered out of the room still holding the picture. This happened to him every summer. With no lessons and detentions and students to distract him he'd always start dwelling on Lily.

As he wandered through the rest of the house he occasionally waved his wand causing dust to disappear and windows to open. Making his way back to the kitchen, he put the kettle on to boil then pulled out a chair and sat at the table and continued staring at the picture of Lily. He lost himself so quickly in memories and self loathing that he didn't notice right away when the kettle began to shriek.

Finally cluing in to the piercing whistle after a minute or two, he dropped the picture onto the table, where it landed face down, and shoved his chair back. He rose and turned off the flame under the shrieking tea kettle, turning away without pouring a cup. Tossing one last glance at the picture, he walked away toward a door on the other side of the room which opened onto a steep fight of stairs leading down to his basement potions lab.

He rolled up his sleeves as he descended the stairs. The tea kettle's shriek had jolted him back to the present and he knew from past summers experience that he couldn't sit and brood all summer because it would accomplish nothing but making his already greasy locks even lanker, dropping weight from his already gaunt frame and souring his already abysmal mood. In other words, piling bad on top of bad. One surefire way to temporarily take his mind off the past was to give himself something to do in the present.

Going directly to a large cabinet, he began to gather the proper ingredients to prepare the Wolfsbane potion. So far he had been unsuccessful in his efforts to brew the new and difficult potion but his last attempt had been very promising.

Pushing aside a jar of doxy eggs in search of the monkshood he unearthed a familiar battered box. He hesitated slightly before pulling it outand lifting the lid to reveal the silver knife with the carved handle. Perhaps if he were to use it, it would bring him luck while he was brewing. He pulled it out of the box deciding that it was time for this gift to be used as the giver had intended. No doubt Lily had given him the knife because she expected that he would enjoy using it while brewing, so he would use it. Eventually he might even forget the past for a few moments and enjoy it. He doubted that last bit though.

Many hours later he had finished adding ingredients and left the cauldron to simmer. In 20 hours he would know if this attempt had been successful. After putting all the unused ingredients away he turned toward the stairs and left the lab. As he opened the door to the kitchen he was surprised to see that the sun was slowly rising over the horizon. He hadn't realized that he had been working for so long.

Waving his wand and causing all the windows and drapes he had opened earlier to close he wearily climbed the stairs to his room. Dragging his robes over his head and tossing them toward a chair, he tumbled into bed still in the slacks and shirt that he had been wearing underneath. He had gotten into the habit of wearing Muggle clothing under his robes after James Potter had used his own spell to humiliate him so badly so long ago. Right before he fell asleep he hoped that he wouldn't dream that night. Mercifully, he didn't.

When he woke, hours later, the light was as dim as when he had fallen asleep. He rose with a groan and stretched his arms to the ceiling before stepping over to the window to pull back the curtains with one hand, cursing when he saw the sun. It was, seemingly, in the same position as when he gone to sleep meaning he had slept all day and would be up all night. As he let go of the curtain he noticed that his sleeves were still rolled up to his elbows and, catching sight of his left forearm, he rolled them down with a little hiss of impatience. The Dark Mark might be faded, but it was still visible so he almost always kept his arms covered.

Seeing the Mark made him think of the day he had told Brie about Lily and the Death Eaters and the rest of it. Well, most of the rest of it. He'd omitted certain details about his home life at the time and also the extreme extent of the Marauder's terrorizing and a few other bits here and there. When he had told about all the Dark Lord's followers being branded with the Mark he had expected her to ask to see it, but she hadn't. He hadn't really thought about it at the time because he had wanted to finish the story as quickly as possible but she had merely nodded and her eyes had slid briefly to his left arm, but she had not interrupted.

As he made his way to the kitchen he wondered what Brie was doing now. He knew she was in Arizona at this point because she had mentioned that she would have a day or two to pack before leaving for Malaysia. As he put the kettle on to boil he tried to figure out the time difference between them. To the best of his recollection Arizona was 7 or 8 hours behind so it must be somewhere around noon there. Brie was probably elbow deep in some kind of venomous creature by this point in the day. Smiling to himself at the thought, he opened a few cupboards and got out the makings for his tea.

His stomach grumbled crossly as he set out the single cup and saucer. He didn't feel like going out to get food so he walked over to another cupboard, pulled out a vial full of blue liquid, uncorked it, and drank it in one gulp. Almost instantly the discomfort in his stomach melted away. He would wait until morning to deal with the food situation.

The picture of Lily was still where it had fallen, face down on the table, and as he sat drinking his tea Severus tried to put it out of his mind. This had been easy last night as he had had the potion brewing to keep his mind occupied. He had eventually even briefly forgotten that he was using Lily's knife, but now with nothing to occupy him, it was much harder.

He finished his tea and set the cup near the sink. As he wandered out to the drawing room, wondering how to kill the few hours until he could check the simmering potion, his eyes fell on the stack of books he had set down last night. The book Brie had lent him was on top. He hadn't had the time to read it during the school year so she had told him to take it home over the summer.

Reading would be as good a way as any to fill the next few hours so he took a seat in front of the dark cold fireplace. As soon as he opened the book a picture fell out and fluttered to the floor. Curious, he bent over to pick it up. It was a Muggle photograph of several people buried up to their shins in mud holding a very long very heavy bodied snake stretched out across their arms.

He pulled out his wand and lit it so he could study the picture in greater detail. He picked out Brie right away. Shortest of the lot, she was buried to her knees rather than her shins. She, like everyone else, was grinning widely and covered from head to toe in mud splatters. He also recognized Rogan, standing to Brie's left, tall and sandy haired. Severus looked closely at Brie, wondering when this was taken. He got his answer as he flipped over the picture. On the back, in writing he didn't recognize, were the words:

**Belize, summer 82' - Steve, Jill, Evan, Brea, Rogan, Erik. Green anaconda 20 ft.**

Flipping the picture over again he peered at the man standing on the other side of Brie. If the names on the back of the picture were in order then this man was Evan, Brie's closest and most trusted friend. Taller than Brie by a foot or more, he seemed to have very blond hair, but it was hard to tell since most of it was covered in mud.

Still glancing down, Severus rose, went over to the mantle and propped the picture up against a vase. After a moments hesitation he cursed under his breath and retrieved Lily's picture from the kitchen and propped it up on the other end of the mantle.

"Incendio" he muttered while pointing his wand at the fireplace. Flames leaped to life, lighting the darkening room. Still staring at the pictures, he returned to his chair and picked up the book again and began the story. Every so often he would glance up at the two pictures then continue to read.

As he got further and further into the story he sometimes recognized ideas and phrases from Brie's recounting. Sometimes he could almost hear a guitar playing in the back of his mind. His eyes started to ache as he reached the part of the story where the young witch left school, so he put the book down and checked the time. There were still some time before the potion in the basement was finished simmering.

Looking around the room for something to hold his attention, his eyes once again fell on the picture of himself and Lily. 'Not again.' he said to himself. 'Brooding won't do any good.' He shifted his attention to the picture of Brie and her colleagues. "Accio picture." he said, pointing his wand toward the photograph, causing it to zoom off the mantle and into his hand. He gazed at the mud covered Brie, frozen forever with her eyes sparkling and her smile wide.

Lily had had a big happy smile too. When it was genuine. He could remember the feeling of always wanting to do something that would make her smile at him. Her smile had always felt like sunshine on the insides for him. Just this bright glowing ball of warmth that started in his chest and spread through his whole body. It had been like that since he had first seen her. Even after she had broken off their friendship he would sometimes catch a glimpse of her smiling or laughing with her friends and he'd feel a ghost of that warm glow. In those later school years it had always made him sad and angry that she'd given up on him rather than making him feel good inside.

He shook his head and tried again to push Lily out of his mind. It depressed him further to think that he'd been getting progressively more bitter since he had been 15 years old. He forced his attention to Brie's picture again. Though she was prone to grin, Severus had never seen Brie quite like she was here. At first he thought it was just her hair, usually that funny dirty kind of golden, kind of rusty type color that he didn't have a name for, which was so muddy you'd have thought it was brown. He looked closer and realized that there was something different in her smile now and in her eyes too. Frowning slightly, he squinted and looked even closer, wondering what else about her had changed since this picture had been taken. Aside from the dead husband and family, of course.

He thought about what had changed in himself after Lily had died. Had anything? He had been dissatisfied with his life before and, if anything, more dissatisfied directly after. He had been unable to prevent her death despite everything he had done. Come to think of it, he wasn't all that satisfied right now. Now he was bound to protect her son whom he had never laid eyes on, and while he may be Lily's son he was also James'.

Severus got to his feet with a little sound of impatience and placed the picture back on the mantle as he left the room to brew more tea. The further he got from the picture, the further Brie got in his mind. He'd been hoping to have at least a few peaceful days at home before having to start trying to sort things out, but that wasn't going to happen. 'How to handle Harry Potter?' he finally thought to himself since it seemed his mind would alight on nothing but the blasted Potters for long.


	10. HM10-Wild Waters

******AN: I wanted to get a chapter out today in honour of ole' Sev's birthday, so I published this one with a little less picking and poking and fiddling than usual. I hope it doesn't show too much. Unfortunately poor Sev isn't mentioned even once in this chapter. lol. I hope you enjoy it anyway, and fear not, the next chapter is a Severus chapter.  
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******another AN: I've just been reading this back and am finding that Fan Fiction is somehow eating every 25th word or so. I've gone over the whole thing and added the deleted words back in. Hopefully I got them all. Let me know if you find any odd missing words please. This is making me nervous for the other chapters. I'm going to have to find the time to go back and re read everything that's been posted so far.  
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******10- ********Wild Waters**

Brie hacked her way through the dense green jungle underbrush with her machete. There were scratches covering her arms and legs, twigs in her hair, she was drenched with sweat and completely in her element. She had come to truly enjoy the feeling of knowing what she was doing and what was going on around her because at Hogwarts she was surprised and baffled by something pretty much everyday. Every once and awhile it felt good to be in a place where up was up and water was water no matter where you were or who you were with. The film crew followed behind lugging the mass amount of equipment needed for documentary making. Not that she really liked to call what she did documentary making. She preferred to say she was making educational nature films. Some people might argue that one was pretty much the same as the other, but she felt her term was much less pretentious for some reason.

She and Rogan had made their first films together to try to educate people about wildlife and to hopefully sell them to the local media to try and make a bit of money to fund their ultimate dream, their own reptile facility. Well, it had mostly been Rogan's dream but Brie wouldn't have stood in it's way for all the world. When she had met Rogan most of the planned out parts of her life had completely changed. Before they had met she had been considering a career as a doctor, or maybe a teacher, or something in research, or maybe even music. Venom and reptiles had been just about the furthest thing from her mind but Rogan had the special gift of enthusiasm for his interests and Brie's imagination had been captured by the possibilities that venom had in medicine so somewhere along the way she'd added her new dreams to his old ones and they had come up with the idea of a venom research lab fronted by a reptile education facility. Milking the snakes and selling venom had kind of been a natural avenue to explore when discussing funding and operation fees for the project. "There's gold in them there fangs!" Rogan often used to exclaim.

But before all that they had to get the whole thing off the ground, so in came the films. They hadn't made films for fame, so she had been thoroughly surprised when they had started to gain popularity with their shaky hand shot footage of their long weekend camping trips where they'd be out picking up anything in sight to make the films as diverse and interesting as possible. Even more surprised when a film company had shown real interest in a series of professional documentaries featuring 'The Wild Waters', as they had been dubbed.

The first few years of their marriage had still been incredibly hectic with Brie determined to continue her education and help Rogan realize his goals and Rogan determined to make his dreams a reality without getting in the way of Brie's. Being dirt poor newlyweds with thousands of dollars in student loans hadn't been fun. The interest from the filming company had made things easier in some respects and harder in others. They had expected to have to limp along with funding for many more years so the extra cash was great. They had also anticipated Brie being able to finish school before they would start putting so much time into the project. Looking back, Brie decided that it had only worked out because she and Rogan both had the mutant ability to function without sleep for long periods of time.

If you asked her, Brie wouldn't have changed a thing. She firmly believed that it was the sum of your lifetime experience that shaped you as a person and though her life had been full of hard work and some major sadness... well, maybe she would change a few things. She wouldn't be as strong as she was now, but she'd have the people she loved and that seemed an OK trade off to her. Love could make you strong just as well as tragedy could.

Rogan's death had boosted her own popularity by quite a bit. The press had had a field day with the story of Rogan and then the story of her family's tragic deaths six months later. Suddenly she was no longer part of the dynamic duo of 'The Wild Waters', she was a lone survivor trying desperately to overcome the untimely and tragic deaths of her loved ones while struggling to keep the life she knew on track. The press had hounded her for weeks after both incidences, camping on the edge of her property, all trying to get that exclusive interview with the bereaved widow and orphan.

She had been beside herself for weeks and stopped all filming and publicity appearances for over a year after Rogan died, despite threats of litigation for breach of contract from the film company. She funnelled all her energy into the facility that they had built together, the facility that they had been collecting the Gaboon viper for when Rogan had died. She would have been absolutely lost if it hadn't been for Evan who had been a close friend since college.

When they first started discussing staffing, neither Brie nor Rogan would hear of anyone but Evan Conifer to manage the facility and he had jumped at the opportunity, relocating from Oregon. Together the three had designed and built Wild Waters Reptiles, more commonly referred to by employees as Venom Lab, a facility dedicated to venom research and extraction, and reptile education The facility boasted not only an ever growing collection of venomous and harmless reptiles but also a large viewing and education area where the public could come to learn about all reptiles.

Rogan had liked nothing better than to teach people about what he loved and the education center had been his baby. Brie, with an interest in venom uses in medicine and a Masters and PhD to complete, had stuck mostly to extraction and anti coagulant research in the lab whenever she had time between school and filming. Conveniently, her thesis centered on her work in the field and research in the lab since she believed in working smarter, not harder. Evan, with a vast knowledge of many many reptiles and a natural way with people, fell right into his managerial role like he had been made for it.

After Rogan died Brie and Evan had temporarily closed the educational center and relocated all the reptiles there into the lab portion of the building because neither could bear to even think about entering it. After nearly a year they had been working side by side in the lab one day when Brie had said, "I think its time to start making films again. He would have wanted it." at the same moment Evan had said, "I think its time to open the education center again. He would have wanted it." They had done both the very next day, in turns planning a film about local reptiles and a re-opening/dedication of the educational center, both in Rogan's memory. Her life had just started to even out and return to normal, or as normal as it was going to get without Rogan, when Dumbledore had contacted her about a professorship at Hogwarts. Sometimes she suspected that part of the reason she was so keen to do such a strange and daunting thing was because she had been starting to fear that the pain of losing Rogan wasn't going to go away unless she started doing something that they hadn't shared. It made her guilty and she had wrestled with herself over it for a long time before making her final decision.

Brie smiled as she hacked her way through the thick undergrowth. Her contract with the film company was 'nearly' up, she only had to do a few more films before she would be free to use her spare time as she liked. After Dumbledore had contacted her about teaching at Hogwarts, and after she stopped scoffing at the idea that magic really existed, she had fought tooth and nail with the production company about the time line around her filming schedule.

They wanted the films one after the other after the other as fast as possible, but, because of Brie's school, Brie and Rogan's original contract hadn't actually specified a time line as to when they were supposed to provide them with the films. It had only specified the number of films they were to produce. Because they had been happy with the speed at which Brie and Rogan had been filming after Brie finished school they had never renegotiated and had just added more films to the original terms. They had also neglected to contact her with new terms after Rogan's death.

When she had pointed this out to them, they had fired up their crack team of lawyers and wasted a good amount of her time in deliberation. In the end though, Brie was correct, there was nothing they could do about the time line of the films because of the original contract so she had avoided being sued for any sort of breach. They had required her to sign a new solo contract. She had agreed as long as she was allowed to set the terms of the time line of the films. She had agreed to no less than one a year. 'Nearly' up meant 5 more films, which essentially meant five more years if she kept up this pace.

Her professorship at Hogwarts made life at Venom Lab difficult for her and for Evan in other ways as well and certain sacrifices had been made. Brie completely stopped all her anti-coagulant research and began collecting and releasing around and during filming, steadfastly refusing to rely on others to stock her facility for her. She preferred to know that the specimens she brought home were not further funding the illegal animal trade. Filming itself had become a marathon event now that she had only four to six weeks out of each year to get it done, always striving for just a few more shots, a few more angles, another species. Evan stopped coming on filming trips and took over contact with the film company, basically becoming her agent on top of essentially running her facility while she was away. After the first year they had hired on more staff to help with the day to day running of things and eventually found a rhythm that worked.

'Or works well enough.' she thought to herself as she climbed over some gigantic tree roots. Evan was doing what he loved and she paid him well for it, but that didn't stop her from feeling guilty from time to time about taking off to, basically, delight at magic. She loved what she and Evan did but the allure of real magic had been too much for her and she had been unable to say no to Hogwarts.

Truthfully, she missed Evan a lot when she was away. When they were together he was her best link to a life she had been enjoying immensely and sorely missed. That life seemed further and further away the more time she spent without him. 'Which is probably good.' she thought to herself, but it didn't mean she had to like it. If she wanted to be completely honest with herself, which she did mostly, she knew that while the facility hadn't started out as her personal dream, she'd fight with everything she had to keep it open for Rogan. She believed in what they did there. They helped save lives. Human and animal. It wasn't what she originally had envisioned for herself but she was in it now and would stay in it as long as she could. It was just a good thing that venom and documentaries paid well enough for her to do that and indulge in some folly as well with no hardship on anyones wallet.

As she hopped down off the last root a movement in the bush caught her attention and she was on it with a shout for the camera men who where assigned to follow and film whenever she had to run after anything. She sheathed the machete as she jogged through the underbrush, listening for rustling and keeping her eyes peeled for movement. A flash of green and black ahead of her in the bush and she went for it, pulling out a green spotted lizard with striped arms, legs, and tail. It thrashed in her hands a little. "Hang on buddy hang on. I only need you for three minutes, tops, I promise." She made her way back to the camera crew, who had fallen behind. "Alright guys set it up." she said and the crew hoisted their cameras onto their shoulders as the sound guy fiddled with the mic pack she already wore at the small of her back.

"Good to go Brie." said Jillian Aru, the director.

Brie nodded and crouched down so that she could hold the lizard near the forest floor. She listened to Jill countdown from five, going silent on two while holding up two fingers, the same with one, then she pointed at Brie who took her cue and started talking.

"What we have here is the Malayan crested lizard or _Gonocephalus grandis__. __It _is a common and widespread species across Southeast Asia. You can find these guys in Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Indonesia and Borneo." She turned the lizard toward the camera as she spoke, pointing at various features. "It gets its name from the ribbon-like crests found among males, like this guy here. Now these spots can range from yellow to brown and females are significantly less colorful also they don't have this crest here. This lizard is diurnal and lives in the rain forest among shrubs and trees where they find and eat little insects." She shifted her weight slightly to let the camera men know she was going to stand, then stood and continued. "We'll just let him go in the brush here and he'll be on his way." She released the lizard and it streaked away.

As she turned back to the cameras something caught her eye on the trunk of a nearby tree. "Oh hey look at this." Brie said to the camera as she darted over to the tree and cupped her hand over a bluish brown gecko with bright orange spots. "These guys are neat." she said as she plucked the gecko off the tree and brought it closer to the camera.

"This is a Tokay gecko, it is one of the largest gecko species in the world. The name 'Tokay' comes from an onomatopoetic description of its call." Brie grinned into the camera. "Hows that for a fancy word, huh?" The gecko obliged her with its loud call. "And there you go!" she exclaimed with a laugh. She loved working with animals. "Hey buddy, I'm running the show here, alright?Its color is usually bluish brown with orange spots. Tokays are fairly robust and large in size. They also boast a feisty temperament." At precisely that moment the gecko trashed around and latched onto Brie's finger. "And there you go!" she laughed again. "This guy has been on camera before, he knows his cues." She pulled the gecko off. "They have some pretty good jaw pressure." she said as she flexed her finger. "Lets just put him back on his tree and let him get back to his day." She placed the gecko back on the tree and released him when one of the camera men found a good angle to shoot from as it ran away up the trunk.

"Wow." Jill said as she walked up to Brie and handed her a towel so she could wipe gecko poop from her hands. "The animals are out today for you Brie."

"They really are." Brie said as she handed back the towel and calmly reached over Jill's shoulder to pluck a thin bright green snake covered with black and white markings from the low branches of a small tree. "Over here guys." she called to the camera crew. "Jill got in my shot so I'm going to do a fake pick up." she grinned at Jill who had moved away, and Jill grinned back. "Count it down Jill." she placed the snake back on the tree where she had found it, keeping a sharp eye on it until Jill was finished with the count and the cameras were rolling.

"And here," she began as she picked up the snake like she had just found it, "we have an Oriental whip snake. Look how skinny and whippy he is. These guys are found throughout Southeast Asia in lowland to mid-level rain forests. They are arboreal snakes so they like climbing trees to feed on geckos, agamids and other small lizards. Their slender bodies and sharp snouts are suited for moving through vines, branches and other jungle foliage like lightning. They are almost perfectly camouflaged as a branch and leaf. " She moved the snake's head closer to the camera and continued, "My favorite thing about these guys are their eyes. Check this out, they have horizontal pupils, while most other snakes have vertical or round pupils. Now I have to be a little careful here because these guys are mildly venomous, but extremely docile. Lets just let him go back up in his tree here, watch how fast he disappears." She released the snake and watched it glide quickly out of sight.

"Alright, lets set up camp here tonight." Jill said when Brie had finished her spiel. "We can do some mission statement shots and probably find more animals."

'Ugg, the woman is a slave driver.' thought Brie. "All right, but lets do the mission statement later. I'm done with the cameras for now." She was in no mood to spend an hour or two filming the opening statement for this film, which involved popping on camera from six dozen different angles and saying over and over, "Hi, I'm Gabrielle Waters and I'm here exploring Malaysia. It's a pretty wild place with some pretty wild animals, lets see what we can find!", after which she would dive off camera again. The missions statement shots were where a good amount of her bumps and scrapes came from each trip. They had filmed a bunch yesterday at a waterfall that they had happed to stumble across and as a result she had some major scratches on her arms and legs and a huge bruise on her knee. She wanted to find a private place in the brush somewhere so she could use her magical first aid kit.

One of the cameramen came up to her holding out her birthday backpack with the funny flowers. She had tied her sleeping bag to the top like she usually did to avoid suspicion. "I think the zipper is stuck Brie, I couldn't get it to budge."

"Why were you trying to open it?" she asked.

"Because you always bring some sort of goodies with you." he replied.

"For me! Bring your own goodies and stay out of mine!" She pretended to jiggle the zipper on the backpack and pull hard. Of course it unzipped easily because she was the one who was opening it. She reached in and rooted around. "You've been on enough of these trips to know to pack your own stuff." Pulling out a candy bar, she handed it to him.

He smiled as he took the candy. "That was funny, how you got your arm to disappear to the shoulder! How'd you do that, isn't your bag full?"

"I'm just...umm...super flexible. Go eat your candy." Brie turned quickly and walked away while yelling at herself. 'Be more careful Waters!' Shaking her head, she casually walked away from the crew as they started to set up camp. If she left quietly, hopefully no one would follow.

'Success.' she though to herself when she had gotten several hundred yards away. As she looked for a clear spot to sit down, she rummaged in her backpack. She practically had her head in it before she felt the square wooden box and pulled it out. Sitting and starting with the bruise paste, which she had already made use of, she rolled up the leg of her jeans and slathered some on the huge bruise on her knee. With wonder, she watched it fade away. 'That will always be cool, no matter how many times I see it.' she decided as she reached back in the box for the wound cleaning potion and Murtlap Essence, which she had yet to use.

She unstopped the vial and hesitated before tipping a little bit of the potion onto the large gash in the side of her leg. She had been worried that it would sting like alcohol, she didn't expect the large amount of purple smoke that billowed forth from the wound. 'He could have warned me about that!' she thought as she poured the potion on some of her deeper scratches. Soon she was surrounded in a purple fog but her arms and legs felt much better.

As she made her way back to the crew she pulled out the little jar of blue bell flames and slipped it into her pocket. The flames were harder to use without attracting attention. Every night she had to shoo someone away from the fire pit and pretend to get the fire going herself. She was gaining quite the reputation as a fire starter.

She walked back into the clearing where the crew had already set up camp. It seemed like no one was around at the moment. Everyone must have been off having a pee in the brush, scouting out good places to film the mission statement, or washing up in the nearby creek, so Brie jumped at the opportunity to dump the bluebell flames into the fire pit. She immediately scooped some back up and shoved the jar in her pocket again. She had already learned her lesson about scooping up the flames right away rather than trying to do it when it was time to put out the fire.

The first time she had used the flames one of the cameramen had tried putting them out with water and they had kept slowly creeping back to life. Brie had solved the problem by helping him to dump a large amount of water on the flames and shooing him away to go pack up his things. The larger amount of water had kept the flame 'out' long enough for him to walk away. She had quickly scooped up some of the flame in the jar and then piled dirt on the rest as Minerva had instructed her to do to make them go out. Always one to learn from mistakes she now also filled up the bucket that was kept near the fire with dirt right away, assuring that everyone had been smothering the flames and not continually trying to drown them.

Jill walked out of the brush just as Brie was slipping the jar into her pocket again. "There you are!" Jill exclaimed. "Let's get some footage of you getting the fire...oh shoot, you already got the fire going. How have you been doing that so fast this trip?"

Brie shrugged and rolled her eyes. "I don't know. Could be the ten years of field experience."

Jill shrugged back, not looking convinced then looked at her with suspiciously narrowed eyes. "Your arms aren't as scratched up as they were twenty minutes ago."

"Of course they are, you loon." Brie replied in what she hoped was a voice not laden with guilt. These wizard gifts were proving tougher to hide than she had originally anticipated. Hoping to distract Jill, Brie said, "Well if you want footage of me starting a fire I can start another one."

"Great!" Jill exclaimed and went over to the pile of equipment near one of the tents and fished around for the right camera. Brie heaved a huge sigh of relief at Jill's back. Distracting her wasn't hard as long as there were scenes that needed filming. "So how are you going to do it this time?" She asked as she located the camera she wanted and set about making sure there was a tape in it and the lens was clean. "Two sticks? Stick and fire bow? Stick and plank of wood? Something with a stick? Steel wool and a nine volt?" She turned and looked at Brie, who was holding up the magnesium fire starter that she'd pulled from her pocket. Jill frowned. "Oh so that's how you've been doing it so fast. Come on! Anyone can start a fire with one of those."

"I'm anyone."

"Briiiiiieeeeee!" Jill said in a long drawn out whine.

"Jiiiiilllllllllll." Brie parroted back. "It's this or there is no fire starting footage for this film. If you want some footage of me acting like a caveman, we can film me making a sleeping platform for the tent. Which reminds me," She turned to the bit of bush where she assumed most of the crew were and raised her voice. "Why are these tents set up on the ground?"

"It's easier!" Several voices answered from several different directions.

"Well enjoy your masses of bugs you lazy clods." She called back while turning back to Jill and speaking in a normal tone again. "I'm building a platform off the forest floor, film that if you want but for fire, I'm sick of using methods that take an hour. People need to know about these magnesium deals just as much as how to start one with a fire bow."

"Fine." Jill relented with a pout. "I guess we've covered all the other methods anyway."

Brie felt bad and added, "If you want I can set up some traps too. Some dead falls and snares maybe." Jill pouted some more and shrugged and Brie could tell she was suppressing a smug look because she had gotten her to offer to do more filming. "That pout isn't going to get you anymore than that, you brat. Let's get started before we lose the light and you start bugging me to film with the night vision stuff."

"But the night vision stuff is so cool!" Jill exclaimed with a laugh.

A voice interrupted from the direction that Brie had come from after using her first aid potions. "Hey there's a bunch of purple fog over here guys! Come see!" Brie had a mild panic attack before calling back, "No one is falling for it Brian!" Several peals of laughter rang forth from the rest of the crew as they all knew Brian as a big practical joker and not even one of them had moved toward him.

"He's probably standing over there with a big bucket of water to throw on whoever shows up first." Jill chuckled. Much to Brie's relief Brian the cameraman gave up on getting the crew over to see the purple fog. She just hoped that he didn't have his camera with him to film it. She really was going to have to be much more careful with these wizard items. 'Only use the wound cleaning stuff on windy days.' She made a mental note as she started scouting around for all the materials she was going to need for filming.

Brie spent the next few hours letting Jill and the crew film her as she talked to the cameras and took them step by step through starting a fire with the magnesium starter, setting up several kinds of small animal traps that could be made using the surrounding terrain and materials, and finally building a small raised platform layered with brush to elevate the tent and hopefully cut down on the amount of bugs that would get inside during the night. This was all pretty standard stuff for one of Brie's documentaries. She enjoyed knowing how to do all these things and teaching others how to do them as well. She had no desire to actually live this way like some people did, but in her line of work it seemed kind of stupid not to at least know the basics.

She and Rogan had started to learn these kinds of things after making their very first sponsored film. It had been the first time they had filmed outside the U.S and it had been total hell. In America they had been used to traveling and filming in short bursts around Brie's classes. It turned out that their 'survival' knowledge, which was really more like weekend camping trip knowledge, had been about as useful as a lead parachute when they got into the jungles of Puerto Rico with a filming schedule of more than a month.

Brie and Jill crawled into their tent that night throughly tired after a full day of hiking and filming. The film crew had had a dinner of MREs which was always Brie's least favorite part of any trip. It had been the MREs that had made her break down and learn how to trap small animals for food. She drifted off to sleep that night hoping that the few traps she had set would yield some breakfast come the morning.

She woke the next morning to the sound of birds and monkeys and a whirring camera with a bright light on top. "Morning Miss Gabby Sunshine!" Jill chirped from behind her rolling camera as soon as Brie opened her eyes.

"Oh lord. Jill please." Brie moaned and tried to squish herself down in her sleeping bag and out of sight. "Don't call me Gabby." She ordered. Jill simply moved to the opening of the bag, pulled it open, stuck the camera in there with her, and grabbed another to keep filming with.

"It still kills me that the part of that greeting that bothers you is the Gabby part." Jill said as she started to poke through the sleeping bag, eliciting more annoyed groans from Brie. "Come ON! You're the one who has been harping on about getting this sucker filmed quickly. That means early rising."

After several pokes to the ribs, and one to the boobs Brie exclaimed, "The sun isn't even all the way up yet!", while grabbing the camera and wiggling her way out of the sleeping bag. Once she was mostly out she hoisted the camera onto her shoulder and began to film Jill as Jill filmed her.

"This will be Emmy worthy footage." Jill giggled as she turned off the camera for now and set it aside. Brie did the same while taking a long look at Jill, noting that she looked pale and had dark circles under her eyes.

"Are you feeling OK, Jilly-bean?" She asked, trying not to sound too concerned. Jill had been battling cancer since childhood. This was her third or fourth remission. Each time they got shorter. If Jill was feeling poorly Brie would insist that she go home to the doctors and let her handle the rest of the filming herself as she was a fairly capable director. Jill knew this and always tried to hide it when she was under the weather.

Jill huffed out a breath and said moodily. "I'm fine. Don't go all mother hen on me."

"When do you go in for testing again?" Brie ignored the annoyed tone.

"After we get back from this trip. Don't worry."

"Well you know I love you, but you look like hell." Brie said.

Jill started cleaning camera lenses in an annoyed way. "I was helping to film another project before we took off for this one. I'm getting too old to be tramping around and sleeping in tents. I'm tired is all."

"Jill you aren't supposed to do that! You know you need to rest in between jobs."

"Brie, I'm a big girl and I'm tired of resting half my life. Now let's drop it and work, OK?"

Brie tried to squash her concerns. Jill had been a good friend since Brie's very first sponsored film. She had been the director assigned to the project by the filming company and after working with her for the first film and a different director for the second, both Brie and Rogan had insisted on working solely with Jill from then on and Jill had been more than happy to accompany them around the world with her camera.

Occasionally Evan would come along to film, complaining that he always got the boring job of staying back at the facility, and he and Jill had struck up a fast friendship and even faster romance. As Jill lived in California and Evan had moved out with Brie and Rogan to the facility in Arizona, the fling had been brief but it had left them fast friends. Evan often called it jungle love in a tongue in cheek kind of way.

Because of the distance between them, Jill's filming schedules, and Brie's professorship at Hogwarts, Brie didn't get to see Jill nearly as often as she liked these days. The past three years they had only been able to squeeze in time together while filming in the summer and recording the voice over tracks for the film during Brie's Easter breaks from Hogwarts. She was having a hard time not playing mother hen since she had to get all her concerns about Jill out in the month they were spending together on this film.

"So you got me up for sunrise shots didn't you?" Brie asked as she grabbed her backpack and rummaged around inside for her hairbrush. Luckily is was fairly close to the top and she didn't have to try to delve into the depths of it with Jill watching. Sunrise shots were a particular favorite of Jill's. They consisted of filming Brie walking through different terrains against the rising sun, making her look like a silhouette or a shadow as she moved. These types of shots added depth to the documentaries and were good shots to add voice-over information to.

No, we can't do those in this dense foliage. We're going to have to wait till we get out and more toward the beaches if we want sunrise shots. I got you up for all the dawn feeders." Jill replied, referring to all the species of animal that preferred a very early breakfast.

Brie sighed as she brushed out her hair then bunched it all into a messy bun with an elastic around it to hold it in place. It was easiest to work in conditions like this with your hair up out of your face and off your neck. It was something that the producers of her documentaries hounded her about constantly. They seemed to expect her to tramp around the middle of nowhere, hunting, fishing, and exploring made up like some kind of super model. She told them what she had always told anyone who said she could stand to spruce up her appearance on camera, she was here to educate, not titillate. Let them try to keep bouncy hair and unsmudged mascara while wading through swamps in one hundred percent humidity. Sometimes she really couldn't wait to be done with these films.

"Alright then, let's go." Brie said as she crawled out of the tent and sat on a nearby rock. Before going to sleep the night before she had done what she always did and drove two sticks into the ground so that she could put her boots upside down on them. She'd never simple place them on the ground outside the tent because that was a good way to get venomous spiders, scorpions and snakes in your boots. Nothing would spoil your day faster than a nice scorpion bite to the toes. She didn't take them into the tent either because usually they wouldn't dry out enough by the next day. Wearing wet boots was bad for you too. And really, who wants smelly old boots in their tent?

She pulled the laces loose and checked inside each one before putting them on and lacing them up, finishing just as Jill crawled out of the tent and took her place on the rock to do the same. As Jill was busy checking her boots, Brie went over to the fire pit and examined the bluebell flames which were still going strong in the bed of ashes despite the conspicuous problem of no more wood to burn. She hastily threw more sticks into the pit and got down on her hands and knees to blow on the flames to make it seem like she had to put a little effort into bringing them back to life. Jill got her boots on and grabbed her camera and began filming Brie as she knelt by the fire pit. As she moved to find a better angle she tripped over some stray roots and stumbled, catching Brie off guard and making her huff out a large breath in surprise which caused a large puff of ash to rise up and cover her face. Jill regained her balance easily and giggled at Brie's sooty face as she followed her down to the tiny creek to rinse off.

Brie knelt at the edge and splashed some water up to scrub on her face. She was just about to turn to Jill and the camera to see if she had gotten all the soot off when she froze, hearing the familiar sound of something slithering over the dead leaves on the ground. She knew the sound of snakes moving over different surfaces almost as well as she knew her own voice and if her ear was worth anything, this was a big one. "Something is here." She said to Jill while scanning the banks of the creek. Jill kept the camera on Brie as she picked up a stick to part a big clump of grass on the bank of the other side. She'd barely brushed it when a giant black hissing king cobra reared out of the grass with it's hood spread wide. Immediately she wished that she had stood up before reaching over. Hoping to give herself time to stand, Brie dropped the stick she was holding into the water with a splash. The cobra turned it's attention to it momentarily and Brie sprang to her feet and backed up two steps, trying to assess the situation.

She and Jill were both within the cobras striking zone. The thing was huge. It had to be at least eighteen feet long and she'd never dealt with such a big venomous snake before. She'd handled plenty of little ones, in fact, they had just released one that had been living at the facility for a few years, but that one had been only 6 feet. That was a much more manageable size. She'd have to stand six feet away from this one just to be out of the strike range and right now she and Jill were only four.

Brie started talking to the camera without taking her eyes off the cobra. "What we have here is a really really large king cobra." She gulped. "Really large. We seem to have caught each other off guard here at this little creek. He has to be at least eighteen feet long. This is about as big as they get. It's really rare to run into one this big. I bet he's tipping the scales toward the top end of the weight range too. Chubby guy." Her breath started to get short as her heart raced. "OK, so right now I'm in a really bad place. These guys can strike about one third their body length so he can easily reach me if he wanted to." Brie abruptly stopped talking as the cobra gave a low warning hiss and rocked forward slightly. After at tense few seconds she started talking again. "And he's cranky. So what I have to do here is very very very slowly back away." Brie started to move back, relieved when Jill started to do the same. "There's no way I'd be able to grab and handle this guy on my own. He's too big, so we'll just keep backing up here little by little." As they backed away the cobra closed up it's hood but remained balanced on the lower half of it's body. "There we go." Brie whispered. "He's calming down, we're backing up. Everyone's happy here today." She and Jill inched backward until there was a sizable gap between the camera and the snake. Jill zoomed in and continued to film as the cobra slowly lowered itself to the ground, had a long drink from the small creek, then turned and disappeared in the same direction it had come from. When it had disappeared, Jill turned the camera back to Brie. "He just wanted a drink. This is just a really good reminder about keeping your cool if you're in the habit of getting yourselves into these types of situations." She finished up breathlessly and made a slashing motion across her neck. Jill lowered the camera.

Brie let out a long low whistle and slowly lowered herself to the ground, finally letting the panic hit her. Jill joined her. Neither said anything. It wasn't uncommon to have unexpected encounters with dangerous animals, they both always just needed a minute to collect themselves afterward. After a few minutes Brie rose and brushed off her pants with shaking hands. "Come on." She said as she helped Jill up. "Let's go check those traps for some breakfast." She started to walk away on slightly rubbery legs. "Umm... don't tell Evan about that OK?"

"He'll see it when the film is done." Jill said as she hoisted her camera up and followed.

"Yeah but I won't be home then." Brie answered and Jill laughed as they picked their way through the brush and to the traps. 'Just another day in the jungle.' Brie thought as she pushed herself along.


	11. HM11-Plagued by Potters

**Question: Does anyone else have problems with fanfic eating words? It usually happens around periods. Fan fic seems to be deleting one word before and one word after random periods.**

Plagued by Potters

_"Who wants to see me take off Snivelly's pants?"_

Severus woke with a start and jerked upright. He had fallen asleep with his head on his arms, sitting at the kitchen table. Again. He groaned and scrubbed his face with his hands. He still didn't know how he was going to handle a daily dose of Potter for the next seven years, and now he was having dreams about his own teenage years. Again.

He rose from the table and started to pace around the house with long jerky strides. Lily, James, Harry, Lily, James, Harry, Lily, James, Harry. The Potter's were plaguing him and he didn't know what to do about it. He ran his hands through his hair and tugged hard, hoping the pain would clear his mind. It didn't work. Deciding tea might improve the situation, he returned to the kitchen and made some. It didn't help. Frustrated, Severus dragged his robes over his head and threw them on a chair. He was going crazy in the house. He needed a walk and he couldn't walk around outside in his robes.

He wandered aimlessly after he left the house, head down, hands in his pockets. The moon lit the way in between the streetlights. He remembered walking like this when he was younger, usually to escape the fighting in his house. He would often go over to see Lily and they would walk together until she had to return he would always have to return home also.

Lily, wonderful, beautiful Lily. His Lily. He had loved her from the moment he saw her and had never stopped. His love ran so deep, he was living his life for her memory. He was living his life for a ghost.

The harsh reality of that thought made him stop short and cover his face with his hands. When he took them away again he realized that his wanderings had taken him to the gates of the old playground where he had first spoken to Lily. 'Of course I came this way.' he thought to himself with a sigh as he walked over to the deserted swings and sat down.

Severus sat and watched the stars wink out and the sky begin to lighten as the first orange sliver of the rising sun broke over the pinkening horizon. He sat and thought of Lily. He thought about the day he met her. About the years together before Hogwarts when they would play and swim and talk about all the magic they would learn at Hogwarts and life was easy. About the first years at Hogwarts when they had been sorted into different houses but had still managed to remain good friends, studying in the library and looking for secret passages and practising spells and charms.

He always tried to stop thinking there, he didn't like picturing the bad times, the quarrels, the uncertainties, the awkwardness of youth, the girl he had loved forever falling for another boy. He didn't like it, but couldn't stop the thoughts from swirling in his head. This was the trouble, had been the trouble all summer. He couldn't think beyond Lily to the problem he was going to have in the very near future.

"Getting nearer everyday." he muttered to himself as he rose from the swing and started home. It seemed that he couldn't think clearly about Harry Potter. He could think about him endlessly but with no solution forthcoming.

'What is the problem really?' he asked himself as he walked, trying once again to sort out the basics. The answer took some time to come. 'How do you look him in the eye when you know you are the reason he has no parents?' There it was, he had the core of it.

His stomach churned uncomfortably. 'What else?' he pushed on. 'By all accounts he is a miniature version of his father with exactly Lily's eyes. How to deal with that everyday? Lily's eyes looking out from a little James Potter.' That was the biggest point, foolish as it was. This was what seemed to be bothering him the most.

The Spinners End house came into view again and he automatically sneered at it. Even now he still harbored a strong dislike for the sight of the house. He had never told anyone what it was like for him as a child. Lily had known. It was hard not to put two and two together when he kept showing up with fresh bruises every few days during the summer. He had made her promise not to tell anyone, telling her that Tobias' rage was nothing that he couldn't handle for the few months he was home during the year. He had handled it for 11 years before going off to Hogwarts, hadn't he? Lily hadn't been happy about the arrangement but she had kept her promise always. Keeping her promise hadn't stopped her from asking every so often if he was absolutely sure that he didn't want her to speak with her parents about it. His answer had always been no.

He let himself into the house and started toward the bedroom, having given up on normal sleeping and meal times weeks ago. As he passed through the kitchen a small tapping noise caught his attention and he looked toward the window. Sitting on the sill with a letter in his beak, was Icarus. Severus felt his heart rate speed up slightly as he opened the window to take the letter. Icarus flew inside, dropped the letter in his hands and perched on the back of one of the kitchen chairs.

**Severus Snape**

It was Brie's handwriting. He let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding and his heart rate slowed. Sometime during the course of their friendship Severus had realized that it wouldn't be good news if Icarus ever delivered a letter that wasn't addressed in her handwriting. Eager now, he handed Icarus a biscuit left over from tea, sat and opened Brie's letter.

**Severus -**

**I have to say, Icarus must be the smartest owl ever. I hadn't been done filming more than an hour when he showed up. I'm glad he is discreet because explaining a Great Gray Owl in Malaysia would be difficult. I thought he had something from Dumbledore since I left him at Hogwarts for the first part of the summer so he could bring all the paperwork about the new year to me, but he didn't. He wouldn't take a letter for him either so I have to conclude that he showed up so that he could take a letter to you. I wouldn't be surprised if he refuses to leave until you give him one for me.**

The letter went on to say that she would be home by the end of the week and that he should feel free to visit anytime he liked if he had decided he wanted to. If not, then she would see him in September. He drummed his fingers on the table, realizing that he hadn't put much thought toward Brie these past few weeks. Should he go?

He cursed suddenly, grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill and dashed off a quick reply saying that he would be there early the following week, and would Apparate later in the day. He scrawled Brie's name on the parchment and handed it to Icarus who took off straightaway.

'Maybe a new setting will help bring new answers.', he thought to himself as he continued upstairs and tumbled into bed. 'If nothing else, a distraction will be good.'

He frowned as Dumbledore's words echoed in his mind. _"I think a distraction would be a good thing. I know next year will be hard for you and I'm sorry for it."_

'Get out of my brain, Albus.' he thought to himself. 'I already have enough people there tonight. I wouldn't be surprised if Icarus showed up in Malaysia because you sent him to her. He was probably hiding in the jungle for days waiting for her to finish up.' He drifted off to sleep and his dreams were full of green eyes and flashes of light.

He woke later that afternoon sprawled across the bed, tangled in the sheets and still exhausted. He hadn't been sleeping well since returning from Hogwarts. Not that he slept much better when at the school, but at least there he could roam the hallways when sleep alluded him.

After untangling himself, he rose with a groan and headed to the basement to check on the potions he had simmering. He had finally succeeded at brewing the Wolfsbane potion last week. He chalked his difficulty up to emotional upheaval because he had never had such difficulty with any potion before. Now he checked and stirred, chopped, shredded, mixed, and bottled, all the while trying to keep his mind clear and blank.

He had developed this defence mechanism during his later years at Hogwarts after Lily had given up on him and The Marauder's tormenting had become almost unbearable. When there was so much on his mind that he couldn't think, he wouldn't. Sometimes it was simple, others extremely difficult. Surprisingly this time it was easy.

When he had finished he returned to the kitchen and made tea. Afterwards he went back to his room and started to lay out the clothing he planned to bring with him when he visited Brie. These tasks didn't keep the Potter's off his mind as well as potions work, so he tried to turn his thoughts to Brie, and the friend he was about to meet, and her work. He realized that he didn't have the slightest idea of what to picture when he thought about her working. 'Well that will change soon.' he thought to himself as he pulled out an old suitcase and started to pack.

The sun was low in the sky and he was just starting to wonder if he felt like having anything more than tea today when another tapping sound caught his attention. He peered at the window and saw a familiar eagle owl perched on the sill. 'I wonder what Lucius wants.' He thought as he opened the window. The owl swooped in and dropped a roll of parchment into his hands before perching on the back of one of the kitchen chairs.

He and Lucius had remained friendly since Lucius had wiggled out of any kind of accountability for his action in the first war. Of course, Lucius assumed that he, Snape, had also escaped punishment with a lie so there had been a bit of a bond there on top of their school and Death Eater days together. Dumbledore also remained thoroughly convinced that Voldemort would return and that Snape's services as a spy would be needed again, so someone who could vouch for his cover story of staying at his post all these years would prove useful. Lucius also believed that the Dark Lord may return someday and had no trouble swallowing the story so everything was wrapped up in a nice tight little package. Or so he thought.

He unrolled the parchment which turned out to be an invitation to dinner the following week, right smack in the middle of his visit to Brie. He'd have to decline and offer to go the after he got back. The letter didn't sound urgent. Lucius probably just wanted to have one more dinner together before Draco started his first year and he officially became Draco's professor.

The second he though about Draco another thought slammed into his mind so fast and forceful that he actually put his hand up to his forehead. Draco. Lucius. Brie. Dear Merlin! Draco! Lucius! Brie!

Brie and Lucius were mortal enemies. Lucius had been trying to get the board of governors to remove her from Hogwarts since day one. Before day one! They had already had several nasty run ins at Hogwarts. Draco must never suspect that he and Brie were more than colleagues or the little brat would run blabbing to his father as he did about everything. How could he have overlooked something so fundamental for so long? His mind had been clouded by bloody Potters, that's how!

He thumped himself on the forehead with his fist a few times before sitting down and composing a reply to Lucius saying that he would be away that entire week gathering rare potion ingredients in Romania and would be unable to attend until the following week. As he watched the owl disappear into the twilight he wondered how he would ever find a way to tell Brie that he was friends with Lucius and that because of his boy they shouldn't be seen together starting this year. He had always skirted around the matter with grunts and non committal replies if Brie had chanced to bring up Lucius in frustration.

She was going to be furious. She despised Lucius. Right now he wasn't feeling so friendly toward him himself. Over this last school year he had come to consider Brie an actual friend. She wasn't just a face he knew or a vague acquaintance or a now and then mate from his school days. Muggle or not she was someone who's opinion he valued and who's presence he enjoyed and he wasn't looking forward to having to stay away from her. He should have known better than to think he might deserve a real friend. God or fate or the universe or all of them hated him. Hadn't experience hammered home the idea that he wasn't worthy of even a small bit of happiness in his life?

The days stretched onward and Severus spent his time alternately pondering his Potter problems and ignoring them by brooding over his Brie botheration. Finally, on the morning of the day he was to Apparate to Brie's, he gave up. He couldn't think about it anymore, he was getting nowhere and it was driving him crazy. His brain told him that he should treat Potter like any other student, his heart knew that that was going to be impossible. He would have to be satisfied with that. And he was just going to have to wing it with Brie and explain it all and hope she'd understand. He was starting to have real faith in her ability to understand him.

He tried to keep himself busy and spent the morning and afternoon making sure all the potions he had been working on were finished. Finally late afternoon became early evening and he went up to his room for his suitcase, which he shrunk and put in the pocket of his robes.

Standing in the middle of the room, he closed his eyes and brought the picture of the room inside Brie's facility to the front of his mind. He turned on the spot with the picture in his mind thinking, Gabrielle Waters, Sedona Arizona, America, over and over again.

He felt the temporarily crushing darkness close in on him, pressing the air out of his lungs, then almost instantly it stopped. He opened his eyes slowly and found himself right where he should be. He'd done quite a few intercontinental Apparations but some small part of him was always a little worried about actually getting there in one piece over such long distances. After a quick inspection to make sure all his parts were there and where they belonged, he took in his surroundings. He seemed to be standing in a very small room or a large closet with a window. It certainly looked like it was used as a closet. There were piles of papers and stacks of boxes lining the walls. At one end of the room there was a door and he started toward it. It was locked.

Unlocking the door with the Alohomora charm he stepped out into a large bright room lined with glass fronted cages. The walls were stark white and several long tables stood in the middle of the room. Some held tools that Severus couldn't identify. As his eyes adjusted to the brightness he noticed a man sitting at one of the tables with his back to him. He assumed this must be Evan.

Evan was leaning over an odd looking instrument set on the table. Something must have alerted him to Severus's presence because his head suddenly snapped up and he whipped around on his stool. "Jesus!" he exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. "You...must be Severus. Sorry about that, man." he said as he calmed down a bit. "You startled me. Brie said not to expect you till later. Evan Conifer." he said as he stuck out his hand.

"Severus Snape." he replied, shaking Evan's hand and looking him up and down. His hair was very blond and he was tanned a dark brown that made his misty green eyes seem to glow. "Brie has told me quite a bit about you."

Evan smiled as he gave Severus his own once over, taking in his long black fairly oily hair, onyx eyes, and his flowing robes. "Well, she's a dirty rotten liar, so don't believe any of it."

"Most of it was good." Severus said.

"Oh well, the good stuff you can believe. Anything else is a lie." There was an awkward pause before Evan added. "I've heard quite a bit about you over these last few years. Brie's only been around for a few days this summer so we haven't had much time for anything other than work so far."

Severus suddenly focused on the cages that were lining the wall. "Do these all have poisonous snakes in them?" he asked, pointing toward some.

"Venomous." Evan corrected automatically. "No this room is for non- venomous snakes. Also frogs, lizards, and geckos, which we use for the educational center."He gestured toward the microscope that he had been peering into when Severus had arrived. "We do some lab work in here too. You know, blood counts, fecal floats, venom analysis. Stuff like that."

Severus nodded vaguely, even though he didn't know what any of those things were. "We used to do anti-coagulant research a few years ago, but that was Brie's thing." Evan continued. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "The hot snakes are through there."

Severus glanced around Evan and spotted a door with a very large handle. "Hot snakes?" he asked as he stepped over to examine it. Above the handle itself were a row of small keys, each bearing a number.

"Venomous." Evan replied. "You need an access code to open that door." He explained as he watched Severus examine it. "Brie will tell you all about that later. Come on lets go find her. I think she is at home." He looked toward the room Severus had emerged from. "Didn't you bring anything with you?" he asked, looking confused.

Severus pulled his shrunken luggage from his pocket and showed it to Evan. "Wizards know how to travel light." he said with a shrug, putting it back in his pocket.

Evan looked even more confused. "All your stuff...?" he trailed off and shook his head. "Dude, she never tells me anything cool! Anyway, come on." He led the way through several doors and out into a very bright very hot day. Severus squinted against the bright sun as Evan locked the door behind them. "You are going to boil in... whatever it is you are wearing." Evan commented. "Brie's place is right over there." He said, pointing to a house in the distance. "That's my place." he continued, pointing in the opposite direction. "Brie owns a ton of land around the facility so I built a house here to be close to work. I rent the property from her."

"What happens if you want to move?" Severus inquired, already extremely hot and uncomfortable in his robes.

"I suppose Brie would buy the house from me or I would buy the land from her." Evan replied as he led the way toward Brie's house and pointed to an old dusty green Jeep Wrangler in the driveway. "She's home, come on." He led Severus around the back of the house and onto a screened porch.

They walked out of the heat and into a bright sunny kitchen finding Brie standing at a long counter with her back to them. She was wearing trim khaki shorts and a blue tank top, her feet were bare and her hair was pulled back into a messy bun. A few curly tendrils had escaped and they danced at the nape of her neck and around her face as she swayed to the beat of the music that was playing. As she cut oranges in half, every now and then she would sing a few words. "This thing called love, I just can't handle it..." she sang as she put down the knife. He noticed a small tattoo of an anchor right below her left knee.

Evan stopped Severus at the kitchen door and held up a finger. "Hang on, this is too good." He whispered. "We can totally surprise her." He crept forward as she began to line up the orange halves and grabbed her around the waist. She squealed in surprise as he whipped her around, hiding Severus from her view with his body. "Kinda like it, crazy little thing called love..." he sang as he waltzed her around the kitchen, skillfully keeping Severus out of her range of vision.

Brie giggled and kept pace while protesting, "Evan no. I'm all sticky from the oranges."

"Well you better wash up," he began as he twirled her one last time and dipped her back. "because you have company." he finished as he grinned at Severus.

Still tilted backwards, supported by Evan, Brie tipped her head back even further and squealed again upon seeing Severus. "Hey you are early!" she exclaimed. "Evan let me up, would you?" Evan put her back on her feet and she bounced over to hug Severus. Then she grabbed one hand, put an arm around his waist and began to dance him around the kitchen just as Evan had done to her. "I figured you would show up later in the day." she said as they swayed and spun in no particular dance style that he knew of.

His head was spinning from the rapid play of events but he replied, "It was much later when I left." He kept his eyes caste downward to avoid stepping on Brie's feet as they moved. At Hogwarts she always seemed to have an air of repressed energy, this must be what it was like when she let it out rather than tried to harness it. It was like having a particularly enthusiastic niffler in his arms.

She released him as the song came to an end and went over to the radio to turn down the volume. "Oh yeah. When I read your note I thought you meant later in the day...my time." She gestured to a chair and Severus took a seat.

"Damn Brie, you weren't kidding about the oranges." Evan broke in as he stepped over to the sink to wash his hands. "Sticky wench."

"Conifer, I'm cutting up citrus fruit. What do you want from me?" She shot back with mock severity. "So, I guess you guys have already met then." They both nodded as Evan shut off the waterand turned his attention to the counter.

"What are you doing anyway?" He asked as he surveyed the oranges, knife, and cutting board she had been working with. Suddenly it dawned on him. "Are you making orange juice? Can I have some?" He put a little whine in his voice.

"Oh I see how it is. One second you are all, 'you're a sticky wench Brie', and the next it's, 'can I have some fresh orange juice even though I just made fun of you?' "She put her hands on her hips. "Some friend you are. Severus would you like some juice?" She asked as she pulled a glass from a cupboard and went to the fridge to pull out a pitcher already half full.

"Aww come on Brie, I was just kidding." Evan was really whining now. "I brought your friend over to you didn't I? I could have let him wander off into the desert you know."He watched her put the glass and pitcher in front of Severus.

"Well that just makes you a saint then, doesn't it?" She pulled two more glasses from the cupboard and poured juice into all three. "Sit down then Saint Conifer and I'll get you some cheese to go with that whine. Do you guys want some breakfast since we are all here?"

"I'll never turn down free food." Evan said enthusiastically.

"I know you are a moocher. You have to work for your food. Finish the orange juice will you?" Brie laughed as Evan made a face and went to deal with the oranges. "What about you Severus, are you hungry? You can eat for free. We won't put you to work till tomorrow."

"It's dinner time." Severus stated, sipping at his juice and studying Brie over the rim of his glass. There was something different about her, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Perhaps it was simply that she dressed a bit more professionally at Hogwarts he thought as his eyes drifted from her tousled hair down to her exposed knees.

"Not here." Brie answered. "You get to do today all over again. It's like time travel!" She went over to the fridge and surveyed the contents. "Now lets see..." she said mostly to herself. "Umm... I'm making waffles."

"Woo yeah, I love waffles." Said Evan happily as he reamed oranges and gestured for Severus to hand him the pitcher.

"You love anything that is edible and free." Brie muttered as she reached into one of the bottom cupboards and pulled out a waffle maker and a frying pan. "Fair warning Severus, most people who come to visit get fed half to death because we both like to cook."

Severus considered this for a moment while he handed Evan the pitcher then replied, "Not a bad way to go all in all."He was starting to enjoy himself as he watched Evan and Brie move around the kitchen, his concern over telling Brie about Lucius gone for the moment. It had been a very long time since he had seen anything done with absolutely no magic. He tried not to feel amused because he considered Brie his friend, and Evan seemed alright so far, but he was fighting a losing battle. He hoped it didn't show on his face.

Evan laughed as he filled the pitcher with fresh juice. "Thats the spirit! You were right Brie, I like him. Give me that fry pan, I'll cook the bacon."

She handed over the pan and began mixing up waffle batter. "So Severus, hows your summer been so far?" She asked as she studied him. He looked tired and drawn.

"Peaceful." he replied in a tone that made Brie chuckle as she spooned batter into the waffle maker and closed the lid.

"The bulk of Severus' summer plans," she explained to Evan as she pulled out plates and forks and put them on the table,"involve enjoying the peace and quiet away from the school full of insufferable little dunderheads." Evan snorted out a laugh as Brie added, "And this little interesting educational field trip, of course." She put slices of bread in a toaster and pushed down the lever.

"Of course." Evan replied. "After we eat we can show you around if you want." He glanced over at Severus while turning the sizzling bacon. "But first we might want to find you something...cooler to wear."

Brie frowned at Evan and then glanced over at Severus and laughed. "I'm so use to seeing him in robes that I didn't even think twice! He is right Severus, you are going to bake out here in those robes. Did you bring anything else with you? You know...something a little more Muggle?"

Severus studied Evan and Brie. Both were wearing shorts and short sleeves, Brie was barefoot and Evan wore sandals. "Actually I pulled them on this morning more out of habit than anything." he said as he stood and pulled off the robes revealing dark gray slacks and a long sleeve black shirt buttoned over a white t-shirt.

Brie let out a low whistle. "Hey, pretty slick. You are still probably going to be hot though." She slid steaming waffles onto a plate and brought it to the table.

"I'll be fine." he replied while he pulled his wand out of the robes and set it on the table beside his glass. He fought a ridiculous surge of pride because Brie had approved of his attire. She set a plate of toast down in front of him and turned to the fridge for the butter, jam and syrup which she set on the table as she took a seat across from Severus.

"Suit yourself." Evan set down the plate of bacon and pitcher of juice, sat and immediately started to load his own plate. "Let me know if you get so hot that you want to borrow some of my stuff." He looked Severus up and down as he shovelled food into his mouth. "We are pretty much the same size." he continued with his mouth full.

"Ugg, Connie you have all the table grace of a chimp." Brie said as she watched him stuff his face.

"Don't call me Connie!" he exclaimed as he waved his fork and threw a wadded up napkin at her.

Laughing, she ducked and it flew past her. "I only do it to annoy you." she said sweetly while pouring more juice and grinning at Severus.

"Well it works."

"Good. Then my mission in life is nearing completion."

Severus started to laugh and choked on his bite of waffle. Brie snickered while Evan whacked him on the back saying, "It wasn't that funny, dude."

After he had recovered Severus asked, "Do you two always bicker like brother and sister?"

They both looked at him in surprise then looked at each other and laughed. "Yeah, I guess we do." Brie answered. "But its mostly because he is such a pain in the ass."

"It doesn't help that she is such an anal retentive Anna." Evan shot back absently. Now that he was done stuffing his face his attention had fallen on Severus's wand as it lay by his plate. "Sending the owl with her little notes to make sure everything is as it should be. Like she expects me to blow the place sky high somehow. Always has to have things done her way."

"Thats because I'm the boss. And you do have a habit of leaving the Bunsen burner on, if you want to pull the 'I don't blow things up' card." she replied with a smirk while Evan turned pink and rolled his eyes. "Evan likes it when I'm away because then he is the boss." Brie explained to Severus while she reached out and slapped Evan's hand as he reached for Severus's wand. "Conifer, thats just rude."

"It's alright." Severus replied, surprised at himself because he wasn't annoyed. Brie and Evan's jovial nature was catchy, it seemed. "Its just a stick to a Muggle anyway. But she is right, it was rude." He nudged the wand toward Evan who picked it up and waved it around enthusiastically, looking vaguely disappointed when nothing happened. "See?" he said with a smirk as he took the wand back and, on impulse, offered it to Brie saying, "You've never asked before."

Brie looked surprised. "I though it would be...rude." she replied as she took the wand. She immediately let it go and it clattered on the table. "It...tingled." Brie said, looking at her hand and flexing her fingers. "Like a dozen tiny little static shocks." She looked up at Severus with her brow knit. "What does that mean?" she asked him.

Severus didn't answer. He picked up the wand and handed it to Brie again. "Wave it please." He said in a slightly strained voice.

Brie hesitated before taking the wand. She shivered a little as she felt the tiny static shocks again. "Did you feel it again?" Severus asked sharply.

"Yes, but only for a second." Brie replied, "Now it just feels like a stick." She waved the wand around and a tiny feeble spark flickered from the tip. Brie jumped and almost dropped the wand again.

"Say Lumos." Severus ordered while Evan raised his eyebrows at the sudden change in his manner. Severus noticed and added, "Please."

Brie frowned at Severus but said "Lumos." Nothing happened and she handed the wand back to Severus. "That was weird. What happened?"

"Yes it was." Severus replied deep in thought. "I don't know what happened. I haven't heard of anything like it before."

"Maybe..." Brie began, thinking hard, "Maybe I can feel the magic in your wand because I have spent the majority of the last few years at Hogwarts? Maybe its like...diffusion, you know? The net motion of a substance from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration." When both men looked at her with baffled expressions she barrelled on, thinking fast. "Well think about it, there are high levels of magic on Hogwarts' grounds from spells and enchantments and just from having all those witches and wizards together in the same place." Severus nodded. "Well now in comes a Muggle, me, with no magic at all. What if, during the school year, some of that magical...energy flows into me because I have...room for it, because I have no magic."

"Then the wand tip would have lit." Severus answered as he caught on to Brie's shaky theory. Evan still looked baffled.

"But I have been off Hogwarts grounds for more than a month." She answered. "More than enough time for any magic energy that made its way in to bleed out again because everywhere else I go is non-magical. And because I am non magical I probably couldn't build sufficient levels of magic energy to actually do magic, only enough to feel it when it is around."

"Its a theory, I'll give you that." Severus replied after a few moments of though. "Magical energy." he muttered with a smirk.

"Yep and its probably BS, but its my first magical theory so I'm kind of excited. All those nights in the library and notebooks full of notes may be getting me somewhere." Brie smiled and rose to start putting dishes in the sink. Evan followed suit and picked up Severus' empty plate as Brie ran hot water in the sink and grabbed a sponge. "After I clean up we can take a little tour of the place, if you are up for it Severus."

Severus nodded as he rose and surveyed the minor mess from breakfast preparations. "Hey look at that!" he exclaimed while pointing out the window over the sink. As Evan and Brie both looked out the window Severus grabbed his wand and said "Scourgify" effectively cleaning the dishes and surfaces.

Brie shot him a radiant smile while Evan looked down at the now clean plate still in his hands, dumbfounded. "Well, job done I guess!" She grabbed the juice, butter and other condiments and stowed them in the fridge. "Severus Snape, what has gotten into you this summer? Jokes, showing off for Muggles, you kinda danced a little. What next?" She slipped an arm through his. "Alright then, lets do this thing." She slid on her sandals and a pair of shaded glasses and grabbed a ball cap off a peg near the door, which she plunked on his head. "That will keep the sun out of your eyes. Later on you and I have to talk about sun block or some sort of skin protecting spell." she said while she nudged him though the door and onto the porch then turned back to Evan, who was standing in the middle of the kitchen holding the plate and looking stunned. "You coming Evan?" she asked, trying not to smile.

Evan turned slightly glazed eyes toward her and said, "He just said one word...it's all clean, I didn't even see it happen..." he trailed off and looked at the back of the plate like he expected the mess to have moved back there somehow.

"You can't blink when there are wizards around Evan! Come on baby, let's go." She knew what was going through Evan's head but she figured it was his problem. She had dealt with bigger shocks to the senses than a scouring spell and she knew he could handle it. Evan snapped himself back to the moment and followed.

"What else can he do?" He asked softly as he crossed the room.

"Brie grabbed his arm before he passed. "Lots of cool stuff, but remember, he's not a side show he's my friend. OK? And we don't need that plate in the lab."

"OK." Evan looked slightly disappointed as he handed Brie the plate and crossed the threshold. "So Severus are you ready to see Brie's baby?" He led Severus off the screened in porch and pointed toward the facility building in the distance.

"Our baby." Brie corrected from behind. "Evan, Rogan, and I designed and built her from scratch."

"If its our baby then how come your name is on it?" Evan asked with a smile, enjoying the old argument and winking at Severus.

"Easy." Brie shot back without heat as they walked around the front of the building and the sign came into view, 'Wild Waters Reptiles' "My talent, my fame, my husband, my money." she finished with a shrug, knowing the rhythm of the debate well. They stopped walking so that Severus could admire the front of the building.

"My, my, my quite the big head you have there Gabby." Evan aimed his last verbal dart and casually stepped behind Severus, who started to feel nervous because he had caught onto the fact that he was being used as a human shield.

"Don't call me Gabby!" Brie roared as she darted around Severus and took Evan down at the knees. He landed on his back with a grunt and she quickly shimmed up to his chest and put her knees on his shoulders, pinning him. "You know never never to call me Gabby! I swear I'll eat your face!" she growled as Severus spun around and watched Evan buck under her weight. He had never seen her move like that. He also couldn't see the wickedly amused gleam in her eye as she repeatedly tweaked Evan's nose with her fingers. He could only see her back and Evan's flailing legs.

"But Gabby," Evan grunted as he struggled, "I only do it to annoy you!" He made a mighty effort and managed to haul his legs up over her head and hook them across her chest as he launched himself up and forward to reverse their positions. "You don't weigh enough to keep me pinned by the way." he laughed as he straightened out his legs to pin her arms and scooted up to sit on her chest. He pushed his arms into the ground to hold him up so that he wouldn't crush her, but Severus didn't notice that as he quickly looked around for Muggles then drew his wand from his pocket and pointed it at Evan.

"Obviously." Brie started as she tried to figure out a way to reverse their positions again, then she caught sight of Severus with his wand out. "Severus, no! It's OK. Get off Evan." she said and he got up quickly when he saw Severus and his wand. Brie held her hands up and approached Severus, who stuffed the wand back in his pocket and felt foolish. "Evan and I have both been through some pretty intense self defense courses because a lot of the places we work in are kind of rough." Brie explained as she dusted herself off. "We...play like that sometimes. Sorry."

Evan eyed Severus's pocket. "You were just going to hocus pocus me huh?" he asked.

Severus shrugged and looked Evan right in the eye. "I was only going to levitate you off." he said shortly. There seemed no sense in mentioning that he probably would have levitated Evan, then tossed him a few yards.

"What about when she was sitting on me?" Evan exclaimed with a grin. "Looks like you have a champion, Brea." he finished, unaware that he had used the nickname reserved for family and close friends. Hardly anyone called her Brea anymore.

"She is much smaller than you. And she's light. She's very easy to toss in the lake." Severus countered and Evan quirked an eyebrow. Severus had noticed Evan's use of the variant nickname, just as he had observed that Rogan had used that same sobriquet in Brie's memory. He wondered if Evan saw him as some kind of threat to Brie.

"Anyway," Brie broke in, amused at the exchange between the men. It wasn't unusual for Evan to call her Brea, he just usually didn't unless they were alone. Now, Severus leaping to her aid was surprising, she would have to think about that when she was alone. "What do you think Severus?" she asked while gesturing toward the building.

Severus turned to face the building again, having gotten only the briefest impression of it before Evan and Brie had started 'playing'. "Its amazing." he said as he took it all in.

It was too. Below the sign, which was impressive all by itself, a big portion of the building front seemed to be large windows that had been covered in a jungle mural. Snakes, lizards, frogs, bugs and other animals could be seen nestling among the cleverly painted foliage. The bank of windows was shaded by a thatched awning supported by what looked like chunky bamboo poles. Planters full of bright happy flowers surrounded each support pole and, as he drew closer, he noticed that the concrete walk way leading to the building was scattered with different kinds of tracks and footprints. He recognized deer and rabbit tracks along with various sized bird tracks and what seemed to be large cat and dog style tracks too. Here and there meandered small bare human footprints.

"And this is just the outside." she said happily as she led him toward the front doors. "We stamped all these tracks on the concrete when we poured it." She explained when she saw him stop to examine a row of beaver tracks. She punched a short code into the keypad by the doors and swept them wide open, inviting him in with a grand gesture. "Welcome to Wild Waters Reptiles, Severus."


	12. HM12-Brie's World

**AN- Hi again! It's been a busy late winter and early spring, so I had to leave you all hanging, but here is the next chapter. I'm hoping to be able to find some time to write again as the weather goes from nice to unbearably hot and sticky. Reviews always help the juices flow, so feel free to leave one with any thoughts or suggestions you might have.**

Brie's World

Brie grinned, already having a great time as she watched Severus drift inside her facility with a look of wonder on his face that she had never seen there before. Evan followed a short way behind, also grinning. "I think I probably looked something like that the first time I entered Hogwarts." She said to him softly. "Only my jaw was really on the floor."

"He seems to be enjoying himself." Evan observed. "Listen, I'm going to go in back and finish up what I was doing when he showed up. I'll meet you guys back there OK?"

"Sure." she said as she watched Severus drift from display to display. She gently brushed some dust from Evan's shoulder and smiled up at him. "Thanks."

"For what?" he asked, looking puzzled while brushing dust off her back.

"For being my friend." she replied with her tongue in her cheek.

"Ugg sappy Brea, just, ugg. I'm all sticky now."

Brie laughed. "Alright than for not making a big deal out of Severus pointing his wand at you."

His eyes lost a little of their amusement. "Yeah, I didn't like that." he said as he glanced toward Severus, who was reading one of the information signs attached to the front of each cage.

She put a gentle hand on his arm. "Evan, he was worried for me and went with instinct. Wizard's use wands, it's what they do, it's what they know. Just like you have come to my aid more than once with your fists, because its what you know." She briefly thought about the story he had told her with Dumbledore and that Voldyoldy guy and his Lily and added, "Much like you, he can be very loyal."

Evan scowled. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"I don't want you to like it, I just want you to understand. Remember that time we were in the Congo and that guy started hassling me and Jill?" A grin quirked at the corner of her mouth as she watched amusement dawn on his face again.

"Yeah, he didn't realize we were with you." He puffed out his chest, "but Rogan and I, we protected our womenfolk."

"Thats a lovely way of saying you two beat the snot out of him and we all had to run for it. Way to protect, Rambo." She gave him a little punch to the arm.

"He was an asshole, he deserved it, and how were we supposed to know that it would cause an uproar?" Evan lightly punched her arm back and disappeared out the front doors again, he would let himself in around the back, finish his blood counts in the lab, and keep an ear quirked for Brie because he had a feeling he would hear her before he saw her.

She strolled over to Severus who was examining a large Woma python and reading the information sign. "Did you capture this one?" he asked when he realized she was standing next to him.

"No. Almost all of the animals for the education center are captive breed because they stay here year round." She explained. "I don't think it is right to take something from the wild and keep it in captivity forever. It's bad enough that some of the snakes that I bring in stay here for 2 or 3 years already. Although once in a while we do capture something, usually local species, that has been injured. We usually bring injured animals back here and fix them up and release them, but if it can't survive in the wild then we will keep it here. Depending on what the injury is, the animal can actually be a really good conservation education tool."

She led him over to the venomous display area and he bent down in search of the eyelash viper that the sign said was supposed to live there. "Most of these were wild caught and will be taken back and released next year. For now we display them here so people can learn about them and every few weeks we milk them for venom. Other than that we leave them pretty much alone. We keep a lot of different species and rotate the ones displayed in the education center every few months so there is always something different to see here."

"Impressive." he replied, still searching the cage for the eyelash viper. "I don't think that there is anything in here." he told her.

"Sure there is, he's probably hiding." she replied as she bent down to take a look and almost instantly said, "There he is, up in the corner there."

Severus looked where she had indicated and indeed saw a small bright yellow snake with odd protrusions above its eyes that almost looked like eyelashes. It was curled up on a branch with about a third of its body hanging down. He wondered how he had missed such a brightly colored snake. "What are those eyelash things?" he asked as he leaned closer to the glass for a better look.

"Modified scales." she replied. "They are just scales that grow in differently." She chuckled as the viper struck out toward the glass and Severus instinctively jumped back. "He's kind of cranky." she commented.

Severus didn't reply. Instead he turned away from the display and scanned the room. Sunlight was flooding in from skylights cut into the high ceiling and everything seemed to be washed in gold. "I didn't expect anything like this." he confessed as he took in the dozens and dozens of display tanks and educational signs and standing displays. He felt guilty, for some odd reason, that he had underestimated her. Severely underestimated, and they had just started.

"And this is just the sideline here. This is all secondary." she stated as she swept her hand around the room. "Come on, I'll show you the main deal."

Severus was reluctant to leave before he had seen everything. Brie had anticipated this and said, "There will be plenty of time to poke around in here later. Evan and I will have to work once and awhile while you are here, you can come back and keep yourself entertained whenever you want. We had to close the education center while there are only two of us working." As she spoke she shepherded him over to a door in one corner and punched in another code on another keypad.

They entered a dimly lit hallway lined with photographs of various people with various reptiles. Severus recognized Rogan, Evan, and Brie in many of them. As Brie moved briskly toward the end of the hall she pointed out a few things here and there. "That's the bathroom, Evan's office, staffroom, my office, storage." she said flicking her thumb toward whatever she was talking about.

Severus poked his head into Brie's office after she had pointed it out and was confronted by a life size poster of Brie standing hip shot, wearing nothing but a huge snake, high heels with ribbons that crisscrossed up her calves, and a sultry expression. The snake was draped over her shoulders so that its head and neck covered one breast and a portion of it's body covered the other. The rest of the snake's body wound its way around her back and down to her hips where it was tightly coiled several times making it appear like she was wearing a short snake skin skirt. The rest of the tail wound down one leg, stopping right below the knee. Her hair was windblown and wild, her eyes heavily made up with smoky eyeliner and shadow, her lips slightly parted and painted a slick, murderous red. He couldn't believe his eyes.

Brie noticed that Severus was no longer behind her and walked back down the hall to see what had distracted him. "Hey, I lost you..." she began when she found him in her office. "What got your attention in here? I don't even have anything in here anymore, I only use it, like, twice a year." She saw the poster and stopped dead with her mouth open. Color slowly crept into her face and she suddenly shouted "CONIFER! WHERE DO YOU KEEP GETTING THESE?!"as she turned and strode out the door and down the hall. "Open up you little..." the rest of the insult was lost as she hammered on the, apparently, locked door.

Muttering under her breath about the revenge she would take if she had the keys to the door and why didn't that door have a code pad like all the rest of them, she returned to the office, ripped the poster down, wadded it up, and tossed it in a trash can before rounding on Severus. "You didn't see that." she said while not quite meeting his eye.

"It may be burned on my brain." he confessed with a sheepish grin that widened when she blushed more deeply.

"Evan and Rogan convinced me to take that picture and use it on posters when we were getting ready to open the facility. You know...sex appeal." she mumbled, still not meeting his eyes. "That was years ago. Every now and again I'll find a poster in my room or in here, once he hid one in the mop closet, once in the shower, twice in the big deep freeze where we keep the frozen mice. I don't know where Evan keeps getting copies since that's the only time I've ever posed like that and I destroyed all of the copies that I could find locally."

"Why?" Severus asked in spite of himself. Brie seemed really embarrassed and he couldn't understand why.

"Because..." she hesitated, "Well, you know... umm this should be a place where you can bring your family and…." She growled a little in her throat and burst out, "because I'm not a sex symbol, I'm a herpetologist, damn it! I have no desire to be...desired. I tried that argument on Rogan and Evan, but they just laughed at me and said that I was going to be desired even if I wore a potato sack with potatoes in it. So I got myself up like a fool and took the picture and they used it for that poster. Evan has been tormenting me with it on and off for years. Opening day was a huge success." she added as an afterthought.

"I'll bet." He answered and glanced toward the wadded up poster in the trash can. "So...there were words on that poster?"

She blushed scarlet to the hairline and turned away with a groan, her hands covering her face. He went over to her and tugged them away. "Hey, you have absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about, but if you are then I can certainly arrange for you to see me someday...oh wait, you already did that." he said while trying to suppress a smile. "At least you were wearing a snake."

Brie let out a snort of laughter and looked up at Severus. "I forgot about that." she said with a wicked grin. Now it was his turn to blush. "I won't tell if you don't." she said

"Agreed." he replied

"Good. Then lets go out and around to the back so I can let myself in to cripple Evan." She turned and walked down the hall.

"Want me to turn his hair purple or move his ears to his knees for you?" He twirled his wand in his fingers.

"She looked mildly interested for a second. "That ear thing, would it be permanent?" she asked as she opened a door at the end of the hall and led him into the hot bright day again.

"Not if you don't want it to be." He squinted against the sun. "It would give him quite a shock either way."

"We'll just hold the ear cursing and hair coloring for dire times." she said as she paused by another door. "If you turned his hair purple, would that be ALL his hair or just the hair on his head?"

"Why?"

"Because it would be funnier if it was all his hair." she said as she let them into the facility again. They were now in the room where Severus had met Evan. "This is my lab that's not really a lab anymore." She said as she looked around. Evan was not there. Brie proceeded straight to the door on the other side of the room where the 'hot' snakes were housed. She punched a code into the keypad, opened the door and beckoned Severus inside. "Don't touch anything." she said as she looked around for Evan. "Dam it, he went out the front while we were going around the back, I think." She said as she swept Severus out of the room before he had even gotten a vague idea of what was inside and closed the door behind them. "Yep, there he is." she said, looking out a window near the door.

Severus joined her and peered toward Evan's house. He was standing on his front porch, waving at them. He couldn't see Evan's face well, but Severus was almost sure that he was laughing. "Oh you just wait Connie." Brie said quietly as she watched him retreat inside. "Revenge will be swift and terrible." Smiling, she turned from the window. "You'll have to forgive us Severus. We always seem to start out my time at home with a prank war. It could get ugly.

* * *

'Oh he will pay.' Brie thought to herself later that day while she was showing Severus around the house. She had been expecting something like this again this year, he had started this prank war ritual the first year she had come home from Hogwarts, but she hadn't expected Evan to do it while she had Severus around. If he assumed that she would hold back simply because of him, then he was sorely mistaken. In fact, with Severus on her side and willing to help, this was going to prove a very interesting time.

She would let him stew for a day or two before she made her move. It was going to be tricky waiting just long enough to get Evan to drop his guard but not so long that he would just take the next step and prank her again. She would bide her time and already had a few ideas in mind by the time she showed Severus to the guest bedroom after dinner that night. He had been up for more than thirty hours and looked ready to drop. Her suspicions were confirmed when he tumbled face down onto the bed as soon as she showed him in.

"I'll be downstairs for awhile if you're not ready to sleep yet, but by the look of you, you'll be out before I close the door." She chuckled when he merely grunted from the depths of the pillows. "Bathroom is through there if you manage to get up to change. I hung your robes on the back of the door. If I'm not around tomorrow morning then I'm at the lab. I'll leave you the code to get in the back if I go. Night Severus." She hesitated a second before adding, "I'm glad you decided to visit.", and quickly closing the door. True to her prediction Severus was out cold before it snapped shut.

Still smiling, she padded downstairs in her bare feet and went to clean up from dinner. She had spent most of the day in a state of high amusement as she watched Severus explore. He was particularly interested in all the venomous snakes and had practically picked her brain clean with all his questions. She had thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

It turned out that Severus knew quite a bit more than she had expected him to. She suspected that he had spent a good part of the end of the last school year reading up on various creatures as they caught his attention. His eyes had lit up when he noticed the shed skins in the Boomslang tanks. Ignoring protocol (no one was allowed to have the venomous tanks open if they were the only handler in the lab), she had opened the tanks right up, pulled out the skins and handed them over.

He had had a ball when she showed him how to use the microscope and had put strands of each of their hair under the lens. After that they looked at just about anything that would fit on a slide. Snake skin, venom drops, a fingernail shard, drops from an old soda can that was laying around, spit, onion skin, most of the food for feeding all the different species of lizards and geckos,blood, and a whole box of prepared slides left over from her college days.

Tomorrow she and Evan would be extracting a few vials of venom from several different species. She wondered if Severus wanted any to use in his potions. She would have to remember to ask.

After she had the kitchen back in order she went out to the porch, sat on the swing and studied the starry sky. She would start her assault on Evan the following night, she decided, hitting him with a prank she'd been meaning to try for awhile now. Satisfied with her plan she pushed off the swing and headed upstairs to bed, chuckling when she passed by the guest room and heard a grunting snore.

She woke early the next morning, as was her habit at home, and went down to the kitchen. Since she was up before Severus she poured herself a bowl of cereal, scooped some fruit salad onto a plate and sat at the table to eat. She was staring out the window, thinking about nothing, when Evan strolled in the back door.

"Morning daaahhhhling." he said with a bright smile. He stole a piece of melon from her fruit salad as he sat. He gave absolutely no indication that he had initiated a war. "Where's Merlin?"

She could play it that way if he wanted. It would be to her advantage if he thought she was not going to participate. "Still sleeping. There is more fruit salad in the fridge, don't steal mine." she said as she slid the plate away from him.

"It tastes better if I steal it." he answered, then lunged forward and snagged a strawberry, laughing when she swiped at him and missed."So you ready to work yet?" he asked

"No." she answered shortly. "We don't all wake at the crack of dawn chipper and ready to take on the day. I need a shower."

"OoooK Miss Gabby Sunshine." He tossed a walkie talkie down on the table. "Use this when you are ready to get to work. I'll be in the pool."

"Ahh Evan, the walkies? Really? Why?" she whined. "Don't call me Gabby."

"Cuz its fun! And it's classier than yelling." he answered with a smile as he rose and headed toward the door. "Get it in gear Ga...Brie." he said as he ducked out.

"You're weird." She threw a wadded up napkin at his retreating form and went back to her breakfast and staring out the window thinking about nothing. She'd get it in gear when she was damned good and ready. 'Evan is getting too used to being the boss.' she thought as she toyed with her spoon.

When she had finished eating she rose and rinsed her dishes in the sink. Hoping the scent would lure Severus from sleep she put on coffee before heading upstairs. He was still out cold after she had showered, dressed and, just to spite Evan, filed her fingernails and touched up her pedicure, so she left him a note telling him she was at the lab. She almost forgot to include the code for the door and had to run back inside to add it.

She stuck the walkie Evan had given her in her pocket as she strode toward the building. She wanted to check the place for more pranks before she called Evan. Calling him while already at the lab would also give the added benefit of winding him up, then lulling him into a false sense of security when nothing happened. Usually the lab was off limits to pranks, but it was one of those unspoken agreements that could be reneged on at anytime. 'We really ought to say it right out that it's a no pranks zone. It's safer that way.' She thought to herself, studying the sky as she walked. It was a beautiful clear blue layered with fluffy white clouds.

She missed the Arizona sky when she was at Hogwarts, where the sky was gray and the weather wet more often than not. It still brought pause when she thought of the great differences between here and Hogwarts, beside the obvious magical differences of course. Hogwarts, with its gray drizzly skies and rolling green grounds and deep woods. She studied the place that had become her home over the last decade, with its spearing red rock formations, low growing scrubby vegetation, and sandy reddish soil. Both those places were very different from where she had grown up as well, at the very tip of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, with it's sandy dunes and salty spray from crashing waves. 'Very different indeed.' she thought as she let herself into the building and went about the business of checking for more pranks.

When she was satisfied the place was clear, she pulled out the walkie and called for Evan. "Babbling Brook to Coniferous Pine." she said, using their silly walkie code names while rolling her eyes. He wouldn't answer if she didn't. "I'm here, where are you?"

There was a crackle of static then Evan's annoyed voice, "I've been ready to go for an hour. I'll be there in a minute. And you're supposed to end your message with over, over."

"Yeah yeah, just get your butt OVER here, over." She tossed the walkie down on one of the work tables and began to gather the tools they would need. Evan walked in a few minutes later, hair still wet from his swim, smelling like chlorine. "Ok which ones are we doing today?" she asked

"Did you even read the schedule I left on your desk?" he asked as he opened the Mojave rattlesnake cage and started to reach inside.

"Nope, I hired you so I wouldn't have to read things. You know, we could really use a Timber Rattlesnake, and it's been forever since I've been near where I grew up..." She turned around holding a pair of long tongs, her thoughts immediately interrupted and forgotten. "Whoa, whoa. What are you doing? She asked when she saw him ready to reach in the tank. "I am the Sr. handler here today."

"Oh Brie, seriously?" he asked as he slid the tank closed and turned to face her with his hands on his hips.

"Absolutely serious." she shot back, mirroring his stance. "Sr. handler milks the snakes. That's how we do things here and since you and I are the only two Sr. handlers the lab has that means you have been taking all the risk this year, so now its my time."

"Brie, I don't care about the risk.." he began.

"I do." she interrupted, holding up a hand to stave off argument. Evan stepped aside because he knew there would be no swaying her. She would try to protect him and he would try to protect her till one of them cashed in, thats just the way it was. "Thank you." she said as she stepped by him and slid the cage open. "Here we go. Get ready."

She reached inside the tank, grabbed the rattler behind the head, and pulled it out. It wrapped the lower half of it's body around her forearm as Evan handed her a large vial with a clear membrane stretched over the top. She found a better grip on the snake's head and coaxed it to bite through the membrane. It's fangs went through with a popping sound and immediately yellowish liquid began to dribble into the vial. "Just like riding a bike." she said with a grin, never taking her eyes off the snake.

They both relaxed after the first extraction and flew through the other seven. "Excellent." Evan said as he studied the vials which held a small fortune in venom. "Well, I am off. I have a date tonight." He wiggled his eyebrows as he left.

Brie shook her head as she finished labelling the vials and packed them up to be shipped off the following day. The entire time she was working she was also refining her plans for Evan. It was a stroke of incredible luck that he would be going out tonight. That would make her job easier. Much easier.

When she walked back into the house she found Severus sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. "Morning Severus." she said brightly as she poured herself a cup and sat down.

"I was about to go over there." he said with a yawn.

Brie studied him as she sipped her coffee. He looked better today. The weariness, if not the dark circles, was gone from around his eyes. He had had a shower, she observed, his hair was still wet. As she took in his clothes she rolled her eyes. Today his pants were black and his long sleeve shirt was dark gray. "We are already done." she said, amused when he looked disappointed.

"You should have woken me." he said.

"You needed sleep. Don't worry we have another batch to do in a few days, I'll make sure you are there." She laughed at the satisfied look that crossed his face. "So, I found out Evan won't be home tonight." she continued with a wicked grin which turned quickly to an exasperated expression when Severus stared at her blankly. "Prime prank time!"

He snorted into his mug. "So you have a plan?" he asked as he wiped coffee off his chin.

"The beginnings of one. Do you know what an alarm clock is?" He nodded and she proceeded to fill him in on the rest of the plan. He was chuckling by the time she was done.

"It's inventive. I'll give you that." he finally said

"You're always 'giving' me things Severus." she said slightly annoyed. "Why is that, hmmm? Her temper flared out of nowhere. This was the second time in as many days he had 'given her' something and she didn't like it. "Oh I forgot, you are a wizard, I'm just a Muggle. You are better than me."

Severus suddenly looked confused, then panicky and Brie instantly felt her temper subside. "I'm...I didn't..." he started to stutter and Brie grabbed his hands and squeezed.

"Don't." she said. "I know you don't think that...much... anymore, and it was lousy of me to say. You made me mad for a second there."

"I'm sorry." He said, looking down at their joined hands. Hers had fine scars all over from pushing through jungle brush for years, his were covered with small shiny smooth burns from years of working with hot liquids in the potions lab.

"Forget it. It's my problem." She answered as she released his hands and stood. "I guess I have to work on not being so touchy about it. That's the second time I've jumped on you for the same thing. It's tough sometimes, always having to prove yourself. It's one of the toughest things to me about being part of the wizarding world. It makes me overly defensive sometimes."

"I can imagine." He said. She had never talked before about what it felt like for her to be at Hogwarts. After the first few weeks she had seemed quite at ease with magic. Things still seemed to amaze her, of course, but she had very quickly developed the ability to accept it and move on with her day. That ability had won her the respect of most every teacher in Hogwarts within the first few months of her professorship. He was a little surprised to hear her say that she felt like she had to keep proving herself.

After he gave it another few seconds thought he supposed he shouldn't be, with all that Amazing Muggle business a few months ago. "I don't think you have to prove yourself as much as you think." He told her. "All the professors at Hogwarts have nothing but respect for you, you know."

Brie smiled. "I know, and I love you all for it, but the wizarding world doesn't stop at Hogwarts' gates. There's a whole world of witches and wizards out there who don't understand Muggles and a lot of them don't want to. Dumbledore warned me that a large number of the first year students this year are children of wizard families that really dislike Muggles. If he felt the need to tell me that then it really worries me. It's been nagging in the back of my mind since he told me but I just didn't have the time to worry about it while I was working. I've been worrying about it a lot these past couple of days since I've been back. I assume that some of these families are the ones connected to those Death Eater people you told me about? The ones who want to stop hiding and rule all the half bloods and Muggles and Muggle born?"

Severus nodded. He hadn't expected this turn in the conversation. "Yes, but Brie, you don't have to worry. You can handle it. You can handle pretty much anything from what I've seen." He hoped it was the right thing to say and wondered if this was the wrong time to bring up Lucius since they were practically teetering on the subject already. He chickened out and decided to find a way to tell her closer to when he planned to go home. He was having a nice time here already and didn't want to spoil it with the Malfoy's yet. Knowing that Dumbledore had already spoken to her about the situation would make it a tiny bit easier to broach the subject.

"Aww Severus, thank you. That really means a lot coming from you. OK, now I'll stop whining and let's talk about this prank. Could you maybe make this easy on me and duplicate the battery powered alarm clock I have so I don't have to go out and buy a bunch more?"

"Absolutely." He replied, enjoying the fact that she wanted him to help her in her escapades.

Her grin spread. "This is going to be hilarious."

Brie made them breakfast and chatted away about what she hoped they might do together while Severus was there. As they ate she noticed that his hair had dried to a silky black curtain and smiled. She'd always seen it oily at Hogwarts.

Later on that day they set up everything they needed to prank Evan and Brie took it all and put it in her flowered backpack. "I absolutely LOVE this thing. Oh, and the potions you gave me came in so handy by the way. I used them all up but the little gold one."

"Even the blood replenishing ones?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "What did you do?"

Brie winced because she hadn't meant to mention it to anyone. "Oh I kinda... gashed myself on a rock while I was out scouting around for a way to get down a big rock ledge. It kind of bleed a lot." She answered as she lifted the right side of her shirt up a little bit to show Severus the healing wound on her rib cage. "It's OK though. I was alone at the time so I was able to use all the potions and creams that you and Poppy gave me and I was fine. Nobody even knew I did it. This already looks better than if I had gotten it stitched."

"If those potions and creams didn't fully heal that, then it was a really big wound Gabrielle." He said sternly as he ran a gentle finger over the angry skin.

Brie laughed as she noted the extreme gentleness of his touch, and dropped her shirt back down to cover the wound. It seemed to be upsetting him. "You just called me Gabrielle! Severus, don't lecture me. I'm fine. I might be fine because of a little help from magic, but the point is, I'm fine. Now let's go, I saw Evan leave twenty minutes ago." She lead him out of the kitchen and out into the dusky twilight as the sun began to set.

"I'm going to tell Evan that you were out by yourself. You said that no one is supposed to be by themselves out there." He said as they made their way to Evan's house.

"Don't you dare!" Brie rounded on him and Severus started in surprise. "I'm serious. I don't need him nagging at me. He's worse than you are right now. Then he'll tell Jill and she'll start up. You all just hush and let me worry about me."

"I don't like it."

"I don't care." She said bluntly. "Let me make this clear Severus. Though it is very very sweet, I don't need protecting, I don't need lectures. I do need some more of those potions before next summer though. If you want to help me be safe, that's the greatest thing you could do for me. And if you don't want to, that's fine too. I can take care of myself, but thank you for being sweet enough to care."

He pursed his lips. She had never spoken to him like that before. Then again, he had never really nagged her this much about her safety before. Come to think of it, why was he now? She obviously knew what she was doing. He was going to have to get used to the fact that she went out and got herself hurt on a regular basis. "No one describes me as sweet." He said, silently dropping the original argument.

"That's because you don't let anyone know you well enough, Mr. Grouchy." She said as she turned back around and started toward Evan's house again.

"Life's easier that way."

"But lonely."

He couldn't argue with that. "True."

Brie turned back and looked at Severus because he had sounded suddenly very sad, but he looked fine. She knew he preferred being alone for the most part so she didn't delve further into the subject. She did notice that at some point between breakfast and now his hair had gotten oily again, confirming her suspicions that he did shower regularly but had over active oil glands.

She had wondered about that pretty much since the day she met him, especially after overhearing several not very nice student conversations on the subject over the years. She had always assumed it was the latter explanation since he didn't smell badly. In fact, most of the time he smelled pleasantly like the herbs he worked with for his potions. There were occasional times that he smelled of less pleasant things, like frog livers or stinkbugs, but that was occupational hazard, she supposed. If anyone understood occupational hazard, it was Brie.

She wondered briefly if she should cover the general subject of glands and such in her classes this year. Actually, the entire basics of human anatomy might be a good few weeks of lessons. She'd have to think about it more later on because now they were at Evan's. Using her key at the back door, she and Severus slowly entered the house. "Don't rule out another prank in here Severus. He probably expects me to be here at some point during this war." She warned as she slowly lead him upstairs to Evan's bedroom.

It took about half an hour to set everything up, after which they hightailed it back to Brie's house where she put Severus to work cutting up vegetables for dinner. When he pulled out his wand and started to cast a cutting spell she laughed at him and handed him a knife. "Use this instead, wizard boy." She giggled. You use it for potion ingredients, why not dinner?"

He took the knife with a grumble and set about the much longer method of manually dicing onions. "You don't have to touch them if you use magic." He said with a sniff as the onion fumes started to sting his eyes.

"You'd rather touch slug spleen than onions?" She asked as she made a face and added water to the tomatoes she was currently trying to turn into sauce for pasta.

"Slug spleens don't sting your eyes." He said.

"Onions smell better." She countered, remembering the slug spleen she had once confiscated off the Weasley twins before they had a chance to do lord knows what with it.

It was another point he couldn't argue with. "True." He admitted as he slid the diced onions into the fry pan that Brie was dangling a spoon into, already stirring the garlic she had minced. He noticed how much faster she had minced than he had diced and made a mental note to reacquaint himself with the art of manually slicing and dicing on basic principal. In the potions lab he would use his wand for anything he could, only switching to manual cutting if absolutely necessary to the project. He hadn't realized how slow his finer knife work had gotten, having had no one to compare too in quite some time now.

After dinner Severus perused Brie's book collection while Brie told him what was good, what wasn't, and what she thought he might be interested in. She insisted that he borrow as many as he liked for as long as he wanted so he ended up with a very large and eclectic stack to take up to his room and try to figure out how to pack away. Many of the books were Brie's old school books, mostly the ones on chemistry and physics. He'd had a vague interest in both ever since Brie had mentioned that chemistry was basically the potions of the Muggle world and she was always using this physics thing to try and possibly explain why magic worked, so he thought he'd try to have a look at that too. Brie had been amused when he had come across an old ragged book of children's tales and added that to his stack as well.

She looked through her movie collection while Severus was upstairs trying to figure out how to pack up all those books. Secretly she was thrilled that he wanted to borrow so many Muggle subject books. As a wizard he didn't have to give a rat's behind about the possible forces behind his magic, but he really did seem interested. Part of her liked it because it meant that she hadn't been boring the robes off him whenever she had started up on one of her tangents, theorizing about how this force and that force acted on this and that to make whatever happen in a spell. Or so she could only assume with the knowledge she had at hand and what she was gaining as she studied throughout the year.

If Muggle and wizard culture ever did end up mixing, she'd wind up being the top mind in the field of Figuring Out How Magic Works Based on Muggle Knowledge of How the World Works. She chuckled to herself as Severus came back downstairs. She'd have to work on that course title. Maybe shorten it a little. She already had reams and reams of data with very few solid conclusions, the science was perfect. She'd be the magic nerd queen.

"So Severus, remember that story about the robots and the swords made of light with the whiny entitled main character?"

"Yes."

"Want to watch it?" She held up the movie to show him the cover.

He took it and examined it with a half sneer. "You mean on the telly?" He asked. He hadn't watched anything on the telly since before he and Lily had gone to Hogwarts. Occasionally on rainy days, when Petunia hadn't been around to huff and sneer at the 'freaks', they would sit and watch daytime TV shows at her house. He'd never gotten a liking for it.

"No, on the blender." She answered with a laugh as she grabbed the tape back from him and pushed it into the VCR without waiting for a real answer. "It's just a TV. It's Muggle, but it won't kill you."

"I know what a telly is." He made a face at her and chose a seat. "Lily and I would watch sometimes before Hogwarts."

This was the first time since he'd originally told her about Lily that he'd actually casually referenced her in conversation. She wasn't quite sure how to react. She quickly chose to just roll with it. "Oh good. That cuts out like ten minutes of explanation then. This movie should keep us entertained until Evan gets home and goes to bed." She tapped the walkie talkie that was sitting on the coffee table. "Then we just sit back and listen."

"Explain this thing to me again." He said, tapping the walkie himself. "We can hear him but he can't hear us?"

"Yep. I taped down the button on his before I hid it under the bed so we should be able to hear pretty much everything going on in his house." She explained the rest of the walkie's functions to him as she fast forwarded through the previews, giggling as she noticed him watching the images flash across the screen with more interest then she thought he'd have.

"What if he..umm...brings his date home?" Severus asked with a little cough.

Brie burst out laughing. "Then I can turn it totally off and we won't hear anything. I didn't even consider that possibility. Good thinking. Ok, let's watch this thing and hope Evan comes home alone and before 2am. If he's not home by then we'll have to go back and reset everything."

Brie started the movie and sat back mostly to watch Severus' reaction to it since she had seen it about a million times already. About halfway through she got up to make some popcorn and closed all the blinds so that it looked like she and Severus were already asleep when Evan got home. He was very likely to come over to chat if he saw lights on. Then he very possibly would just end up spending the night sacked out on her couch and never go back to his house and their whole prank would be ruined.

Evan returned home, alone, right around midnight. The first movie ended just a little bit afterwards. "Evan's home." She said as she peeked through the blinds while the credits were rolling. "We've still got a lot of time before this prank goes off. It doesn't even sound like he's upstairs yet." She saw lights go on at the back of Evan's house. "Oh, he's taking a midnight swim. He'll go to sleep right after. Want to watch the second movie while we wait? I'll make coffee." They already knew that they would be up most of the night waiting on the full results of their prank, so they were pretty well prepared for the long haul.

"There's another one?" Severus asked. "But the whole story you told me just happened in this one."

"Oh yeah there's another. That story is a lot longer than the part I told you." She replied as he followed her out into the kitchen while working the kinks out of his neck.

"Well why didn't you tell the the other part?" He asked as he pulled out a chair and sat, watching her move around the kitchen.

"I don't know." She answered as she poured water into the machine. "We stopped telling stories. They were getting emotionally exhausting."

Severus grunted in reply and grabbed a banana out of the bowl of fruit in the middle of the table to stuff in his mouth so he wouldn't have to comment further. He already felt comfortable enough here after just two days to not even bother to ask, knowing the answer would be, 'yes, and stop asking, just take what you want.' He was unused to this kind of kindness and hospitality, but Brie and Evan made it so natural and normal that he was adjusting fast.

Brie noticed him cram practically half the banana in his mouth and figured that that was a sign that he didn't want to talk about it anymore. She was getting pretty good at reading Severus and his actions and body language. Not that it took a genius to read him this time. Mentioning Lily seemingly in passing earlier must have been his limit on the subject for the night. She finished up the coffee and they went back to the living room to watch the second movie. Halfway though Brie heard Evan come in and go to bed over the walkie talkie. She checked her watch and grinned. About one more hour and this prank would be underway.

Sure enough at 2am precisely they heard Evan's own bedside alarm clock go off. Brie paused the movie so they could hear what was going on. By the sound of it, he woke with a large surprised grunt and slapped at the clock. "I don't remember setting that." They heard him say before they heard the springs creak as he shifted around and dropped back off to sleep with a few light snores. They both chuckled and Brie un-paused the movie so that they could watch the last ten minutes.

"How can it end like that?!" Severus exclaimed a short time later. "What happens?!"

"There's another, there's another." Brie assured him as she looked at her watch again. "But we'll have to watch later. There are going to be too many interruptions starting in another ten minutes."

True to her word, ten minutes later they heard another alarm clock going off over the walkie talkie and Evan's surprised grunts started again. Brie heard some slapping, thunking sounds and started laughing. "He's trying to turn off the one by his bed again." She explained to Severus, making him chuckle even harder.

Stifling their laughter so that they could hear what was going on on the other end of the walkie, they sat and listened to Evan get up out of bed. "What the heck is going on?" They heard him ask groggily. There was a sharp sound that Brie guessed was Evan yanking the plug for the bedside alarm clock from the wall outlet, and then some inventive cursing involving her name. Next they could hear him grumbling and bumping around in his room trying to find the alarm clock that they had hidden in his bedside drawer. They assumed that he found it because the alarm abruptly stopped going off. "Dammit Gabrielle. I'll get that little dingus for this." He said sleepily as they heard him get back into bed.

Brie checked the time again and ran to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Her throat was getting dry from laughing. Severus grabbed her arm to check her watch as she came back and sat. Her butt had barely hit the couch when another alarm clock started ringing through the walkie. This time it was more muffled. They heard Evan whip off the covers with a shout and start bumping around the room again in search of the new offending alarm. Seconds after he found and shut off the one they had hidden in his closet, another started to sound. This one in a completely different room. They held their aching sides as they heard Evan give a roar of frustration and charge out to find the newest annoyance.

It was starting to get a little hard to hear everything as the prank got farther and farther away from the hidden walkie under Evan's bed, but as each new minute passed they could hear a new alarm start to sound and Evan's voice crying out in triumph as he found one, and despair as the next one started up in some other part of the house.

All in all they had hidden ten separate battery operated alarm clocks all over the second floor and it took Evan about twenty minutes to find them all and turn them off. Brie was particularly proud of the one she'd thought to stick in the AC vent in the hall. Afterwards everything was silent for a few minutes but then they heard Evan's footsteps come back into the room. He started to tear the room apart again, all the while muttering to himself. "It's here somewhere I know it is. She's not outside, she's not inside, so she's listening somehow."

"Uhh oh." Brie chuckled. "He's completely on to us now. It's just a matter of time before he finds..." She never got to finish her thought because at that second they heard Evan's voice clear as day as he crawled under the bed and found the hidden walkie with a triumphant shout.

"To any former best friends and their sneaky wizards who might be listening, I will get you. You won't know where and you won't know when and you won't know what, but it will come, and it will be horrible!" His incredibly annoyed voice rang out into Brie's living room before a frosty silence descended once again.

Severus looked at Brie with a bit of concern in his eyes but she just waved him off. "He's always like that if you wake him up before he's had all his beauty sleep." She chuckled. "Now, would you like to get to bed too? Or do you want to watch the next movie?"

"Movie!" Severus exclaimed. He couldn't think about going to bed now. Not with all the coffee and adrenaline in his system, and that space cowboy frozen in carbonice, whatever that was.

"Movie it is!" Brie said, feeling much the same way. She opened all the blinds back up so that the sun would come in in the morning. She knew it made the house hot earlier than if she kept them closed against it, but she didn't care. She liked the sun. It was just starting to peek over the horizon when the movie ended and they finally dragged themselves up to bed.


	13. HM13-Stupid Heart, Stubborn Brain

Stupid Heart, Stubborn Brain

He lay in bed as the sun rose behind the drawn curtains, thinking. He hadn't laughed as hard as he just had in a long time. After just a few days with Brie and Evan he felt better than he had in ages. Not only was he thinking less about the Potters and more clearly about other non Potter related things, but his appetite was coming back, he could sleep again, and he also just felt... Happy?

He tried thinking of other times he knew he had been happy. The first he could remember had been with Lily. There had been some high points mixed in with the low points during his school days. The last he could remember had been some times in the past year with Brie. All those times felt pretty much like this, so yes, he felt happy. And light.

He wasn't sure how one could feel 'light' but it was the best way to describe how he felt today. Evan and Brie's good nature seemed to be rubbing off on him somewhat. He didn't feel the want to be snarky or sarcastic. Well, funny snarky, yes, but that was just because it was fun to banter a little and that's how he bantered best. Brie and Evan both seemed not only to understand that, but to enjoy it, snarking right back at him. This prank war thing was turning out to be a barrel of cornish pixies as well. Pranks were much better when they were friendly and mutually agreed upon. He scowled as he remembered the many unexpected, unwelcome school day pranks from his past.

To distract himself he thought back over the past year at Hogwarts, realizing that at some point he had stopped being content with running into her by chance and had started seeking Brie out because he was drawn to the positivity in her personality and the bits of happiness she could light in him. It was hard to remain disenchanted about life when around her. At some point he had started to learn Brie's habits so that he could 'run into her' more often. When had he started seeking out happy?

With an uncomfortable squirm he realized that it had been about the time that he'd told her about Lily and all the rest of it. She had managed to break through his defenses that day. Actually, as he thought about it for a little longer, he realized that it was the day that she had told him about Rogan and let him use Legilmency to truly see why she understood how he felt about Lily. No one had ever done anything like that before for him. No one had cared enough to in a long long time. Until that day he'd been able to keep everyone in his life at arm's length, relying only on himself for anything.

He knew he wasn't the easiest or nicest person in the world. Part of that was the defenses that he'd developed to help get him through his childhood and school days, and then after the war when not everyone had believed his story of turning spy for the Order. He knew that over the years he'd built up some pretty formidable walls, but now nothing could get in and he was happier for it. He had a feeling that holding Lily's lifeless body in his arms had been the biggest factor in the shaping and cementing of his adult attitudes.

He had bawled his heart out that night. It was the first time he could remember crying since he had been very little, sometime before he had met Lily. Not even Tobias' raging fists had made him cry before that and nothing had since. Something inside him had shut down that day when he had finally been able to lay Lily's limp body back down on the floor. He'd laid her down, closed her eyes, smoothed her hair and gone numb inside for a very long time. The numbness had turned to bitterness. The bitterness had turned to a slow simmering constant displeasure with everything.

He hadn't told Brie about finding Lily's body when he'd told her about all the rest of it. He hadn't been up to reliving that portion of the story that day. In fact, he was fairly certain even Albus didn't know that he had been there that night. Well, Severus hadn't told him directly anyway, but sometimes that old codger seemed to know details he shouldn't, so Severus couldn't really know for sure what Albus knew. He might tell Brie someday, if the subject came up again. It had shocked him, when he saw her memories, that she had had a similar experience with Rogan in her arms. It hadn't seemed the right time to mention the comparison though.

He supposed that they had sudden family death in common as well, but he doubted he'd ever mention that. He hadn't talked at all about his childhood and home life. To him, it wasn't pertinent to the story.

Sometime after Lily's death, his father had finally lost complete control and had beaten his mother to death in a drunken rage. That same night, because she hadn't been there to wake him up or turn him over, Tobias had passed out and choked to death on his own vomit. At that point it had been years since he had seen either of them and while he didn't give a thestral's arse about his father, his mother's death had hit him harder than he would have expected.

Mixed in with all the bad memories were a scattering of good ones. If he thought really really hard he could just barely remember his mother teaching him to play Gobstones when he was very little. She had told him all the wizard children's tales in those early years too. She had also spent time teaching him to identify various potions ingredients that grew in the immediate area. She had taken him to Ollivander's to get his wand when he was eleven and had shown him some basic spells when Tobias hadn't been around. She had also been there at platform 9 ¾ at the beginning and end of each year at Hogwarts, no matter how much Tobias protested. It wasn't much but somehow he'd always known that it was all she had to give. She had given up on a happy life long before Severus could remember. Possibly before he was even born.

No one deserved what he and his mother had lived with and Severus could never ever understand what had kept her with Tobias all those years. There were several times throughout the years where he had tried to get his mother to leave the drunken bastard. He had promised to get her her own place to live and to take care of everything she needed but for some unknown reason Eileen had refused to leave the rundown house on Spinner's End. The unfairness and unjustness of it all had helped to further his bitterness about the joke called life and cement his lifelong dislike of Muggles.

At some point during their association Brie had chosen to look beyond all the bitterness and displeasure, despite the negativeness he had been directing at her. He didn't know what had made her do it, but knew that he was glad she had. It seemed to him that she hadn't even needed a reason, choosing all on her own to look beyond it all and see something good in him that almost no one saw and that he himself was only vaguely aware of.

Now, if he wanted to be happy he needed Brie because Merlin knew that he wasn't getting there on his own. The last ten years had been proof to that. The fact that he had been alone only a few minutes and no longer felt 'light' was further proof. He scowled at himself and turned over to face the wall.

There was a point where he had been content to simply be. Content was pretty close to happy, wasn't it? Time had healed his wounds as far as they were going to go. He'd found a pattern he could live with well enough. He had work, for the majority of the year he lived in the place he had dreamed about as a child, he had books and potions research to keep him busy, colleagues to converse with, students to take points from and the odd Quidditich match and feast to break it all up. Really, besides the students, it had been a tolerable life. Then Brie had come to Hogwarts and disrupted it all with her bright eyed optimism, endless energy, and stubborn resolve. Now he wanted what Brie gave him and soon he'd be unable to have it.

Sometime in the last few days he must have decided to completely not care that Brie was a Muggle. He hated it when his heart made decisions before his brain could fully dissect the situation. This time it was OK, but there had been other times where he had been most unsatisfied with the results.

If he listened closely enough, he'd know that his heart hated how long it took his brain to come to obvious conclusions, but it had been a very long time since he had listened to his stupid heart. If he did he would have realized that he'd come to that decision when he told her about the war and the Death Eaters and the Potters and the rest of it instead of just keeping it hidden. She'd guessed something was bothering him, but that didn't mean he'd had to tell her what it was. He could have lied, or even just said that he didn't wish to discuss it. Even before she had asked, he had been wrestling with the idea that he should tell her at least parts of it anyway.

Unfortunately for his heart, he and his brain still had to care about the image he projected to certain parts of wizarding society. Wasn't that always the way? You always figured out what you really wanted as soon as you knew you couldn't readily have it. Damned Malfoy's. Damned Death Eaters. Damned Dark Lord. Couldn't he just do the polite thing and die all the way already?

He'd never break the promise to protect Lily's boy, however much he dreaded it. It was the last and only thing he could do for her. But did he deserve something or someone enjoyable in his life as well? He'd spent years believing that he didn't. Years feeling that Lily had died because of him and he no longer had the right to be happy. Now here Brie was with her happy smile and funny stories and similarly tragic past that didn't weigh her soul down like an anchor. He envied the way she could casually mention Rogan and tell stories of their time together. He thought that it might be nice to be able to do the same about the good times with Lily. He had tried to mention her in passing earlier when Brie had teased him about the telly, but it hadn't felt right. How did she do it?Would he ever be able to? He felt horribly guilty for wanting it as he drifted off to sleep as the sun fully rose, never really coming up with an answer.

* * *

He still didn't have an answer when he woke later on in the day. The bedside clock said eleven. He rubbed his eyes and scrubbed his hands over his face a few times. He was apparently getting too old to stay up all night and sleep the morning away because every one of his joints protested the movements. He could hear Brie already awake and bumping around in the kitchen. He didn't know how she could function so chipper all the time with as little sleep as she got here. He'd already noticed that her schedule here was different from Hogwarts. Here, she was up before the sun and went down well after midnight. At Hogwarts, she slept in on any days she didn't have an early class, but still didn't go to bed till very late. He tossed off the covers and stretched full body, not ready to fully get up yet. His brain seemed to want to think some more. He had figured out Brie, now it was apparently time to think about the Potters again.

Harry Potter. Harry James Potter. The little James with Lily's eyes...

Nope, he wasn't ready to think about it again yet after all. It was too close to the memories of a lifeless Lily in his arms. After all, the boy had been there at the time, wailing in his crib as Severus had wailed on the floor. Severus had briefly tried to calm him down with a mostly intact teddy bear after he himself had no more tears for Lily, but Hagrid had shown up on Black's flying motorcycle and Severus thought it best to Apparate away.

Why was he still thinking about the Potters at all? Hadn't he decided, before he came to Brie's, that he'd gotten as far as he could in that department? He was going to have to take it as it came with 'The Boy who Lived'.

He gave a derisive snort and got up and padded to the bathroom. If he wanted to stop thinking about the Potters he needed Brie for company. He quickly showered and dressed and started downstairs to the kitchen where he could already smell something good cooking. Honestly, Brie's cooking rivalled the Hogwarts house elves. He didn't know how she stayed so slim if she liked to cook and eat so much. Evan wasn't exactly pudgy himself either, and he ate twice what Brie did.

"Hello, Severus." Brie greeted him with a smile when he walked into the room. She was still wearing what she had termed 'pajama pants' the night before, they were covered in monkeys riding giant bananas for some reason. Her t-shirt bore the emblem of the university that she, Rogan, and Evan had attended. He'd asked her about it last night. "Look at you all showered and dressed already. Now I feel like a slug. Want something to eat?"

"What smells good?" He asked, sniffing the air.

"Cinnamon buns." She replied as she sipped some orange juice and read the newspaper. "They'll be done in a minute. Oh, in fact..." She trailed off as she looked around the room. "Oh here it is." She said as she pulled the walkie talkie out from under a section of the paper. She hit the button and there was a short crackle of static. "Cinnamon buns." She said simply, then put the walkie down again. Severus went to pour himself some juice and before he was finished Evan burst in the door carrying a pink box tied with string.

"Cinnamon buns?" He panted.

"What'd you do, run all the way here?" Brie asked with a chuckle.

"I love cinnamon buns." He replied as he put the pink box down on the table. "Here, I got these this morning at the bakery. I was about to eat them when you called. They are cream filled." He broke the string on the box, opened it and offered it to Severus and Brie, who each took one.

"Thank you." Severus said as he studied the piece of newspaper on the table. The images didn't move and he wasn't used to it yet. Absently, he started to take a bite.

"Wait." Brie said and he stopped just as his teeth were brushing down on the donut. She took a suspicious sniff of hers and put it down on the table. "I'm not eating that. What's it really filled with?"

Evan looked offended and said, "Cream! You're always so suspicious." Severus flicked his eyes back and forth between them as they debated, still holding the donut in his mouth.

"Yeah, I'm still not eating it." She said as she squeezed some of the filling out onto her finger and had a tiny taste. "Mayonnaise. Nice try." She said triumphantly as Severus took his donut and put it on a napkin on the table.

"Damnit." Evan grumbled while pointing to Severus. "I almost had Gandalf there. What a waste of a dozen good donuts. How did you know?"

"I shouldn't even tell you, it will make you better at it."

"You know you're going to already."

"Oh fine. One, the string has two bows. You cut it and retied it after you were done putting in the mayo. You should have untied the string when you first opened the box, not cut it. Two, you hadn't already eaten seven of them yourself in the car before you got home."

Evan growled in his throat and threw himself down into a chair.

"Geeze Evan, you sure are grumpy. Someone might think that you didn't get enough sleep last night or something." Brie snickered as she took the cinnamon buns out of the oven and used a spatula to put them on a plate, which she brought to the table. He made a rude gesture.

"What's a Gandalf?" Severus asked around a mouthful of bun. Evan's bad habits were catchy.

Evan answered with an equally full mouth, "Story wizard."

Severus swallowed. "I want to know about Gandalf."

"When did we start talking about Gandalf? All I just heard were two monkeys grunting."

"Sorry." Severus said guiltily. Evan just took another even bigger bite, chewed it for a minute then opened his mouth and showed it to her.

"Eww Evan, no need to be a child just because you're losing." She made a face and Evan blushed and closed his mouth.

"It's too early in this thing to say who's losing and who's winning." He insisted after swallowing. Severus grabbed another bun and watched the exchange with interest. This was the first time that either had acknowledged the prank war in the others presence.

"You're just saying that because you're losing." Brie taunted. Evan started to reply, but Brie cut him off. Let's clean this all up and I'll jump in the shower real quick and wash off all this cinnamon stickiness, since I managed to get it all over me somehow. Severus, today I thought you might like to take a look around at the area, Muggle style. It's a lot different than Hogwarts out there."

"Ok. What's Muggle style?" He asked.

"You'll see."

"So walking?" He smirked.

She made a face at him and repeated, "You'll see.", as she started to pick up his plate. Evan swooped in before she could take it.

"I'll get those into the sink for you Brie." He said as he stacked everything and turned to the sink. "You stow the juice and butter and stuff."

"...Ok." Brie said while giving him an odd look but grabbing the juice and putting it in the fridge while Evan carefully placed the few dishes in the sink. It seemed to take longer than it should.

He stepped away from the sink and handed Brie a sponge. "Here you go. All set for you."

She gave him another odd look. "Thanks." She started to turn on the water but stopped and instead opened one of the drawers near her and reached inside. Pulling out a pair of scissors she took them and snipped off the elastic band that was holding down the button on the sinks sprayer nozzle. "Failed prank number two." She said cheerily as she reached for the soap. Severus hadn't even noticed the elastic till Brie had started to cut it.

Evan scowled and pulled the sponge out of her hand. "Oh, go shower Ms. Smartysmart." He said in a slightly irritated tone.

Brie laughed. "OK. I won't be long. I'm not going to wash my hair. It's just going to get all sandy out there anyway." She started to leave the kitchen but stopped abruptly and turned. "Evan, could you get me the aspirin from the top of the cupboard over there? I've got a headache and it's just going to get worse if I go out into the sun all day without treating it." Severus picked up his wand to simply summon the aspirin but Brie shook her head slightly and he stopped.

"Sure." He put down the sponge and turned to the cupboard. "Where?" He asked, standing on his toes to try to see.

"They must have gotten pushed way to the back." She replied as Severus watched her creep over to the sink while pulling something from her pocket. He repressed a snicker as he realized it was another elastic band and she was putting it over the button on the sprayer nozzle like Evan had tried to do to her.

"I don't see any up here Brie." Evan said, his back still to them.

Brie crept away from the sink. "Oh well, maybe they are in the bathroom cabinet upstairs. "I'll go look. Thanks again for doing the dishes."

Evan waved her out, still scowling and she left with a little snicker only Severus heard. Evan picked up the sponge again and said to Severus, "I don't know how she can usually be one step ahead of me in the pranks department but she constantly covers herself in whatever she's cooking and loses things like aspirin and batteries." He turned on the water and jumped in surprise as his front half got fully soaked by the unexpected stream from the spray nozzle.

Severus simply smirked as Evan slapped off the water and turned, dripping, toward him. "You saw her do that, didn't you?" He asked, still looking astonished that his chest was soaked.

"Maybe." Severus answered as he drained the last of his juice from the glass.

"Well then you can clean this up while I go change." He tossed the sponge in the sink and stalked out.

Brie popped her head around the corner after the door slammed. "Did we get him?"

"Yes, but..." Severus started to answer.

Brie cut him off. "But he acted like a big baby and stormed out like he wasn't the one who started this whole thing in the first place?"

"Exactly."

"Yeah that's to be expected since he really is a big baby. You'd think he'd have learned who's the prank master by now. Anyway, I'm really going upstairs now. Down in a few minutes and I'll do the dishes and we'll go." She disappeared around the door frame again.

While she was gone Severus had another glass of juice then looked at the small pile of dishes in the sink and shrugged to himself while casting a scouring spell on the whole lot and hovering them all out and into a neat pile on the counter. He had just finished vanishing the puddles of water that Evan had trailed from the sink to the door when Brie came down and shot him a grin when she noticed the clean dishes.

"Ready to go?" She asked as she pulled several bottles of water out of the fridge. He nodded and followed her out the door and over to Evan's house where he was standing outside in new dry clothing near three Muggle type vehicles that Severus couldn't identify.

"I like the new outfit Evan." Brie called out as they walked up. Severus snorted and pushed his tongue into his cheek while Evan glared at them both.

"Yeah yeah." He growled as he slung a back pack over his shoulder. "Are we ready to do this thing?"

Brie laughed and replied, "Only if Severus magically knows how to drive an ATV."

Evan stopped scowling and looked interested for a minute. "Can magic really make you learn instantly?"

"No." Severus replied. "If it did, Brie and I wouldn't have jobs."

"Oh, I'd have a job." Brie said as she approached one of the vehicles. "Oh dammit." She suddenly exclaimed. "I forgot to put on sunblock! Evan, do you have any in your backpack? Oh and also, can I put our water in there?"

"No. I'm not a fluff brain, so I put mine on already this morning. And yes, you can put the water in."

"Ok ok." She stuck out her tongue. "Run Severus down on how to drive one of these and I'll run back to my house and get some."

"No. I have some in my house. It will be faster if I go get it and you start teaching him." Evan slipped the backpack off his shoulders and plopped it on the ATV and disappeared into the house.

"Quick, find a rock." Brie said as she unzipped the pack and started pulling everything out. "Not too big, but decent weight."

Severus looked around without asking questions. He assumed that Brie had something new up her sleeve. He located a suitable rock and brought it over.

"Thanks." She said when he handed it to her. "Nudge me if you see him coming. I'm glad he took the bait and went inside, I didn't want to run all the way back to my house." She took the rock, wrapped it in a towel and nestled it at the bottom of the bag and loaded everything carefully back in with the waters on top. "He always brings a towel and never uses it. He won't find that extra weight till he unpacks the bag tonight." She chuckled as she pulled him over to one of the vehicles. "OK, now this is the steering wheel..."

He interrupted her. "You expect me to drive this Muggle contraption." It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

"Well of course I do. Unless you really do want to walk around the desert. Which we can do, but you'll find this much more fun. Don't you know how to drive at all?"

"I've been fully immersed in the wizarding world since I was 17 years old." He replied with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms. He was already starting to get hot and cross. This place where Brie lived was constantly like an oven.

"Hmm, I supposed you wouldn't then. Well, that's alright you're smart, and it's not hard."

All protests left when she called him smart. He glowed with the compliment and decided to at least give this piece of Muggle machinery a try. After all, there was no one around to see beside Evan and Brie. He let her teach him how to drive the beast and only felt foolish for a few minutes as he tried to remember what all the handles and pedals and twisty bits did.

Evan came out with the bottle of sunblock and Brie looked at him suspiciously. "That took far too long. This isn't going to turn me colors is it?"

Evan laughed and said, "As much as I wish I knew how to make it do that, so it could, no. I took this last opportunity to... drop the kids off at the pool. I like doing that in a place where I don't have to squat over a cactus, and that has toilet paper." Brie laughed and slathered on the sunblock. Evan held her hair up off her neck and said, "Man, I really wish I knew how to make that turn you blue."

Brie smirked and said, "I know how to do it."

"Chemists." Evan sighed as he looked over to Severus. "How you doing over there buddy?"

Severus looked up from the vehicles controls. "I could turn you blue, yes." he said absently, misunderstanding the question. He'd only been half listening as he tried to cement all the new information he'd just received about driving this crazy thing.

"Wizards." Evan sighed again as he walked over and picked up the backpack. "Geeze Brie. What'd you put in here, rocks?"

Severus snorted, and Brie laughed to cover it up. "No, you big baby. Do you want me to carry it?"

"No, I've got it. Get wizard boy squared away so we can get going."

"Try a few laps around the house Severus." Brie said as she climbed onto one of the ATVs and started it up. "I'll follow."

He took a deep breath and started his own machine, hoping that this would go well and he wasn't about to make a fool of himself. He was unprepared for the sudden jump forward when he first got going so pretty much as soon as he started, he almost fell off and stopped again. Ignoring Brie's sharp intake of breath, he took another deep breath and told himself that if Muggles could drive these things, then so could he. His second start went much better and he slowly crept his way around the house with Brie giggling at his side and telling him to open it up. Whatever that meant.

"Open it up Severus!" She exclaimed again as they inched their way back to Evan, who started his own ATV and joined them in their crawling second lap around the house.

"I don't know what that means." He answered peevishly.

"It means stop riding the brake and give it some gas, grandma!" She laughed as both she and Evan simultaneously 'gave it some gas' and took off into the desert, leaving Severus no choice but to speed up and follow.

Once he got going, he found that he enjoyed the speed and the cooling breeze. But not the bumps. It was something like riding a broom. If the broom was on the ground... and had handles... and wheels... and needed petrol...

Brie grinned at him when he'd caught up and he automatically grinned back, then grimaced as he hit another dip in the terrain. "Stand up when you feel yourself going into a dip or a bump." She shouted as they raced around large spiky cactus. Things felt much better after that.

He enjoyed the next few hours, despite the heat, exploring the very different landscape. He was used to gray skies and wet ground, not vivid blue skies and sandy, incredibly dry... everything. Brie and Evan answered every single question he asked. He couldn't manage to stump them. They even knew the answers to the potiony type questions he was able to ask when they came across plants that were familiar to him. They'd know every name and every common non magical property about every single one.

Here and there, the Potters would pop into his head and he would push the thoughts away with a scowl. He was not in the mood to be weighed down anymore today. Today he was driving Muggle vehicles and learning how to handle rattlesnakes with Brie's long tongs and hooks. It was thrilling, in a you-may-die-any-second kind of way.

All throughout the day Evan would occasionally complain about the weight of his backpack, especially after all the water had been taken out and drunk. Brie kept poking fun at him, calling him Mary, and offering to carry it. He kept it all day and Severus suspected that it was because Brie had been offering to take it from him. He laughed to himself at her cunning. Evan still hadn't found the rock by the time they had all prepared and eaten dinner together at his own house later that night.

Brie and Severus left quite late, after lots of talk and laughter and a few glasses of wine. Severus didn't normally indulge in more than one or two drinks at a time. He figured it was probably because of the memories of his father. It had never really been a conscious decision of his, not to overindulge, but that's how it was for whatever reason. The combination of food, more wine than usual, and a day in the hot sun made him very sleepy and he tumbled into bed soon after they got back to Brie's.

He woke some time later with a start. He'd had a dream. Well not a full dream technically, it had just been a flash of Lily's eyes. His earlier contentment with the evening was gone and he supposed he was cursed to have the Potters invade his brain some more. Wishing he felt comfortable enough to talk with Brie or even Albus about his difficulties, he threw back the covers and rose to go get a glass of water from the kitchen.

How was he even supposed to talk to someone about it when he didn't know why he couldn't just figure this all out or stop thinking in circles? It seemed that for the first time in a long time he wasn't going to be able to think this through on his own. He didn't know if talking with someone else would help, but at this point he was willing to try. Anything to stop thinking about the bloody Potters for just one blasted day!


	14. HM14-Meddling Mary Muggle

Meddling Mary Muggle 

Brie sat back on the swing and stared at the night sky. Tonight her head was swimming a little bit with the wine she, Evan, and Severus had drunk with dinner and staring at the sky helped her think.

She was worried about Severus. He had been around for days now and hadn't said anything about the coming school year and she was fairly certain he was still struggling with the idea of having Harry Potter in his classes and all the rest of that incredibly sad story. Now that she had seen him in Muggle clothes and out of his billowing robes she was pretty certain that he had lost weight over the summer and when he had first arrived his eyes had been puffy and tired, with dark circles underneath.

He did seem happier here than she had ever seen him before. He was even smiling on his own occasionally, but he was also still brooding at odd times, she assumed it was about Harry Potter. She supposed that she should keep in mind that until now they'd only had contact in the place where they both worked. You had to keep a certain image of a serious professor there, even during non class times. She also supposed that she shouldn't discount the fact that for most of the year Severus worked and lived in a place where he'd known some of the best and worst times of his life. That had to be bittersweet at the very least.

She frowned to herself, wondering if a truly happy Severus Snape was too much to expect. It seemed that his entire life had been hard. She'd had to take enough required psychology courses on route to her degrees to recognize signs of an un-idyllic childhood. Of course she didn't know the details because he'd never actually spoken to her about his childhood, but she'd suspected unhappiness was there in his past for awhile now. If she was wrong she'd wade barefoot into the Okefenokee Swamp wearing a poncho made of meat.

When he had first told her the story, he had briefly mentioned that he and the man Lily married had had quite the rivalry in school. He didn't really go into the details but she had to assume that it had made a decent impact on the adult he was now if he still thought to mention it. She figured that he probably had had to endure at least a bit of general ridicule seeing as his greasy hair problem and lanky frame had probably been even more prominent in his teenage years and teens, Muggle or wizard, were generally jerks when it came to outward appearance. Again, she'd had to read case file after case file on kids messed up by bullying in her pych classes, she knew what that could do if the torment had been severe and you held onto it till adulthood.

Tack on a case of unrequited love, the belief that he'd basically caused her death, and the responsibility to protect a child that was the physical reminder that the woman he loved had chosen another man and what did you get? Severus Snape, that's what.

She reminded herself that a large portion of her thoughts were merely her own suspicions and she shouldn't go running off with the ideas as if they were facts. She also warned herself not to play amateur shrink anymore after her wild success the last time, but she still couldn't help but wonder; could things be better for Severus if he had someone who cared about him? She knew from the past few years at Hogwarts that he basically was alone in the world. He had acquaintances, but no family and no close friends. She had the feeling that he'd let her get closer to him than anyone since his childhood days with Lily. That was a long time to be basically alone.

She hadn't had a bad childhood. Her parents were strict and expected a lot out of their kids, but were always kind and fun. Neither had she had a bad school experience. She'd been so busy studying that she hadn't really had much friendly contact with anyone, but hadn't had any unfriendly contact either. She believed herself to be fairly forgettable all throughout high school and college. She DID know what it was like to lose someone you loved with all your heart and that seemed to be what bothered Severus the most. It seemed to be what held him back from having a happier life. Could she use her experience to help him be less miserable in his own skin? Did he even want that? Was she being a meddling Mary and trying to inflict her vision for a happy life on him? Was he happy just the way he was and she was making something out of nothing? Why was she asking so many damned questions tonight?

She growled at herself and tried to sort through the swirling questions. First and foremost; was Severus happy the way he was and was she making something out of nothing? She tried to think it out objectively, knowing she was trading in murky water.

No. His ever shortening temper during the school year had already given her that answer and she shouldn't doubt her instincts there. She believed that he'd been content enough up until then but only because he'd been largely trying to ignore the looming problem.

OK, now, second question; was she being a meddling Mary? Probably.

Follow up question; was this one of those times when it was good to be a Meddling Mary? For weeks after Rogan had died she had refused to talk to anyone about it and had sunk into one of the worst depressions of her life. She didn't want to eat or work or even breath. She couldn't try to sleep her way through it either, her dreams had been too horrible. She'd gone through her days like a useless zombie.

Evan had taken matters into his own hands and saved her with a couple of pitchers of Margaritas and the blunt honesty that only a true friend would use. She had told Evan details that she didn't want to tell and he didn't really want to hear but heard them anyway for her. There had been a lot of drinking and a lot of crying and in the end they had both woken up sprawled on Evan's living room floor feeling much better despite nasty hangovers.

Then her family's plane had crashed and she had gone straight back into that depression, but again Evan had saved her, this time with a bottle of Irish whiskey. It was the worst time in her life and she never would have come through it without Evan to lean on. If she had had to do it alone, she would be a very different person now. Probably not a nice one.

She was still left asking the question, did Severus need a friend like that? A friend who would take matters into their own hands and make you lean on them even when you hadn't planned or wanted to. She had the distinct feeling that he hadn't ever really had the benefit of any kind of emotional release after Lily had died seeing as there had been a war that just ended and the Ministry had hounded him for months, not fully believing the Death Eater turned spy story right away. She imagined that the people around him had been mistrustful as well. Not to mention the fact that he hadn't wanted anyone to know about his feelings for Lily in the first place.

The more she thought about it the more she started to believe that if anyone in the world needed a meddling friend, it was Severus. Over the past few years she had begun to consider Severus a real friend so she would try to help him as she would any of her friends. She'd use the Evan tactic even though she wasn't usually an advocate of trying to drink your problems away. It could loosen you up enough to face your feelings and if anyone was going to need loosening, it was poor Severus.

'Better try and talk to him about it first before I pour liquor down his throat.' she though to herself as she gently swung. She would do it if she had to though. And she assumed she would have to. They hadn't spoken of Lily or of the day Rogan died again since the original conversations, so she figured that he really didn't want to get into either subject any further. She didn't think that one good drinking session would suddenly 'cure' his lovelorn state of course, but it might help him think through his more immediate problem. Also, it wouldn't be good if Severus went back to face the new school year without at the very least letting off some steam with some silly fun.

She smiled to herself as she tried to imagine Severus Snape letting off steam any other way besides intimidating students. She couldn't. She looked forward to finding out just what it looked like. With a chuckle she checked her watch, picked up the bag next to her and pushed off the swing. She had to stop herself from whistling as she headed toward Evan's house, she couldn't be sure he was asleep yet. As she travelled she kept a wary ear out for rattles and growls. Neither was a good thing to hear when you were walking alone at night.

All the lights were dark when she reached the house, but that didn't necessarily mean that Evan was asleep. He could be expecting her, he could be sitting in there waiting with another prank. It had happened before and she had been woefully unprepared. She'd ended up covered head to toe in silly string shot from all directions by the silly string shooting rig Evan had dreamed up and built and placed just inside the door she most often used. That was the day when the prank wars had gotten serious.

She'd managed to get him back with the old cool-aid in the shower head prank. His pale, baby fine hair had sucked up the red in the cool-aid and stayed bright pink for a week. She had added her own twist on the classic prank by using empty medicine capsules and loading the cool-aid inside so that it would take awhile for the water to dissolve the capsules and therefore would be less noticeable, resulting in more cool-aid in Evan's hair before he'd caught on that the water had turned red and sticky.

She was going to go more subtle this time, preying on his slightly vain streak. Creeping up to the back door, she turned the knob and slowly pushed it open. All seemed quiet as she crept inside and toward his bedroom. Luck was with her, he was asleep, not expecting another night time assault. Stifling chuckles, she pulled a pair of scissors and a hair extension out of her bag and proceeded to snip off sections the same length as Evan's hair. The hair extensions were the exact same pale blond as his own tresses. She snipped off sections and gently placed them in Evan's hair, trying to work them in a little without waking him. For good measure she sprinkled a few hairs on his pillow too. After that she went to the bathroom and sprinkled a good amount on the sink top and in the shower and on his hairbrush. On her way out she also tucked some in the ball cap that was on the coat rack by the back door.

She giggled all the way back to her house. As she came in the back door she came face to face with Severus, who was getting a glass of water. He manfully covered a yelp when he turned around and she said, "Hey, can't sleep?"

"Where were you?" he asked after he had recovered and swallowed the sip of water he had almost choked on.

"Well Mom, I was out taking care of a little business with our prankster friend. But don't worry I'm back safe and the car is OK too." She laughed when he blushed, then filled him in on the latest in the prank war while she made tea and pulled out some cookies. Maybe she could get Severus to unload his problems tonight. She went for the direct approach. If you tried to lead up to or dance around an issue he'd most likely play stupid to make you tap dance even more and enjoy watching you squirm. With Severus direct was always the best. "So, made any headway on the Harry Potter coming to Hogwarts thing?"

He choked on his sip of tea. He was beginning to wonder if Brie and Evan were secretly trying to kill him by making him choke on things. Then he wondered if Brie could read minds as he grabbed a cookie to munch on to give himself a second to think.

Brie almost gave up right there, remembering how just the other day he had shoved half a banana in his mouth to deter a conversation he didn't want to have. She started to back peddle. "I'm just, you know... wondering. You seemed upset when you told me... and you're brooding about something when you think I'm not looking. But you don't have to talk about it if you don't want."

'Well that explains the mind reading. She doesn't read minds, she reads bodies.' He tucked away that piece of information as he swallowed and confessed. "Honestly I don't know." Somehow it was always easier to talk to her after she gave him an out. She always let him know that he didn't have to talk if he didn't want to and that always made him want to. "I thought I had it figured out but I can't stop thinking about it." He didn't mention that having it 'figured out' meant trying to ignore things now and winging it later.

Brie swallowed her own cookie and ventured tentatively, "That indicates that you have some unresolved issues with the situation."

Severus shot her a bland look.

"I know, I know, but until you sort it all out, it's going to keep bothering you."

"So forever then. Perfect." He took another sip of tea and then on impulse asked very quietly, "Do you still love him?"

Brie's heart broke for him because she suddenly knew exactly what was holding him back. "With my whole heart, for my whole life. BUT that doesn't mean I'm not going to love someone else someday. There are different kinds of love Severus. You don't have to feel guilty for feeling happy, or excitement, or even love again without them. I know Rogan wouldn't have wanted that. Do you really think Lily would have? We can still love them and be happy."

He chose not to point out the fact that Lily had given up on him years before her death and had never even known that he had switched sides. Most likely she'd never forgiven him for becoming what he had and had held disdain for him till the day she died. "Do you really think you'll love someone else again?"

"At this point in time, probably not, but it doesn't mean I can't. I've got a lot of years left to live and I have no idea what is there waiting for me. It's an option I'm skeptical about but I don't deny it could happen someday." She wondered if she should ask the question that was on her mind and thought, 'Oh screw it. We're into it now, no turning back.' "Do you still love her? I mean, like, really really love her and not just the memory?"

"Always." He whispered the word that came into his head whenever he asked himself that exact same question. That question never failed to get an answer from his heart. The one that continually got ignored was, 'Why?'. Not even once had there even been a hint of an answer there and suddenly he knew what was keeping him up nights and making his mind continually float back to Lily when he should be worrying about how to handle Little Potter for the next seven years. It wasn't really the prospect of seeing Lily's eyes shine out from a little James Potter, as unsettling as that was going to be. It was because he'd been asking himself why he still loved Lily. He wasn't sure exactly when he had started to ask himself that question but now he knew that whenever that was, he'd been guilty about it ever since.

"That's actually really beautiful in a self destructive way." Brie interrupted his thoughts. "Do you think you'll love anyone else?"

He shook his head, suddenly irritated. He was grateful for the advice Brie had given and for asking the question that had lead to this little epiphany, but now he wanted to be alone with it for awhile.

She shrugged and nodded. "I get it. I think you could, but I understand that you think you can't. Your first love is always the most intense but you can't let the past rule your life. You can let it teach you a lesson that you carry with you always, but you can't let it take you over and drag you down. Just... you know...think about that a little. It might help because sometimes horrible things happen Severus. For no good reason. You can let it break you, or you can keep going. I choose to keep going. It gets harder every time, but I'll be damned if I'll be broken for long. In every other aspect of your life you are the same way. This is something you can figure out. I know it. And even if you can't, you don't have to have it all figured out to move forward; you know?"

He nodded absently and said, "Thank you.", as he reached over and briefly squeezed her hand. He drained the last of his tea and cast a scouring spell on the cup before placing it on the counter. He wandered off without saying goodnight and Brie wondered what he had just realized that had him so preoccupied. She knew it was something. She'd seen it come over his face while they'd been talking. She finished her own tea and rinsed the cup in the sink before going to the living room and picking up the novel she was currently reading, still wondering and hoping that she'd at least helped him a little bit. If that's all she was going to get out of him while sober, well then they were just going to have to spend some time together not sober. Now weren't they? After all, what were friends for if it wasn't saving you from yourself when you needed it most?

For the first time since he had told her about Lily she really stopped to think about her. Until now she had just accepted the tale without really dissecting it. From Severus' account he and Lily had been friends since nine years old. They started Hogwarts together and still remained friends throughout the first few years, always spending summers together. He had admittedly made some bad choices and she had given up and severed their friendship

Brie wondered just how hard Lily had tried to turn him away from dark magic and the Voldendart wizard and hoped it was very hard. She felt her temper roll a little bit at this dead woman who she'd never laid eyes on. Personally she felt that she herself wouldn't have given up on Severus in the same situation. At least she hoped she wouldn't. If Lily had truly considered Severus her friend then it seemed a really weak move to sever all ties and walk away from him like she did. You didn't abandon your friends, you fought for them. Trying to save them from themselves was often the hardest situation a friendship could go through and Lily had just given up. Brie didn't like that at all.


End file.
